The San Francisco Transit Center District Plan aims to develop a sustainable urban system around the new transit center, promoting high-density land use and public amenities while generating revenue for affordable housing and public improvements. The plan outlines significant projected buildout, including millions of square feet of office space and housing units, alongside established guidelines for urban design and circulation. A total of 11+ acres of new open space is proposed, with substantial costs associated with public improvements and sustainable resource utilities.

1. San Francisco Planning, in partnership
with the Transbay Joint Powers
Authority and the Office of Community
Investment and Infrastructure
TRANSIT CENTER
DISTRICT PLAN
Sustainable Urban Systems Symposium
Stanford University June 2016

2. The only constant
is change.
SAN FRANCISCO 1915 - 1986
1915
1958
1972
1986
Image courtesy of Stewart Bloom (©1990)

3. The New Heart of Downtown

5. Downtown Plan 1985: Compact, Walkable, Transit-Oriented

6. Downtown Plan: Extending the Office District South of Market

7. Highest Allowed
Heights prior to
plan adoption
(550’)
Development
Transfer
District
Downtown Plan: Extending the Office District South of Market
Transbay Terminal

8. Demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway

9. Transbay Redevelopment
and Rincon Hill Plans
(2005)
New Downtown Residential Neighborhoods

10. Major Regional Transit Investment: Transit Center and DTX

11. Targeted Growth Around Primary Regional Transit Hub

12. Transit
Center
Project

15. Transit Center District Plan Area
Private and
Public parcels
around
Transit Center,
including
Transbay
Redevelopment
Area
Zone 2

16. High Density Land Use at Major Transit Center:
Capitalize on new major transit investment with appropriate land use
response in the downtown core
Building on the Urban Design Element and Downtown Plan,
analyze:
Analyze the downtown form
Identify opportunities and set guidelines and standards to build a high-
quality public realm and provide public amenities
Generate more revenue to support the complete Transbay
Transit Center/Downtown Rail Extension project and other
public improvements
Ensure the district is an example of comprehensive
environmental sustainability
Objectives
Transit Center District Plan

18. Dolores Park
nceptual Illustration Only
Urban Form: Previous Heights

19. Dolores Park
nceptual Illustration Only
Urban Form: Approved Heights

24. City Form | Emphasizing the Transit Core

25. Plan Area Buildout Potential
Net Additional Space Increment over
Existing Zoning
Office Space 6.35 million gsf +2.2 million gsf
Housing Units 1,300 +800
Hotel Rooms 975 +800
Retail Space 85,000 gsf --
Total Space 9.39 million gsf +4.02 million gsf

26. Affordable Housing
 State law requires 35% of all units built in the Transbay
Redevelopment Area be affordable.
 City is building as many 100% affordable projects as
possible on public parcels to help meet this requirement.
 Lack of available sites makes off-site BMR impractical in
Redevelopment Area for private developments, hence on-site
requirement.
 TCDP development projected to generate up to $117M from
Jobs-Housing Linkage Fees for affordable housing citywide

27. Urban Design Controls and Guidelines
 Active ground floor
uses
 Defining the
streetwall
 Separation of
towers

28. Public Realm: Streets and Circulation

29. Plan Open Space
City Park 5.4 ac
Transbay Park 1.1 ac
Natoma Street Plaza 1.3 ac
2nd/Howard Plaza 0.6 ac
Mission Square 0.5 ac
Shaw Plaza 0.1 ac
Living Streets 0.6 ac
Oscar Park 1.4 ac
Essex Street 0.25 ac
Plan Would Help Create and Fund
11+ Acres of New Open Space…
…and provide an additional $12.5+ million
for open space improvements
outside of the Plan Area.

30. Historic Resources

31. Public Improvement Costs
 Streets and Pedestrian Circulation (est. $278m)
o Sidewalk widening and mid-block crossings
o Streetscape improvements
o Underground TTC-BART/Muni pedestrian connector ($125M)*
 Transit and Other Transportation (est. $2.6B)
o Downtown Rail Extension ($2.54B)*
o BART station capacity improvements
o Additional Traffic and Congestion Studies
 Open Space (est. $117m)
o Transit Center Park ($50M)*
o 2nd/Howard Plaza
o Connections to Transit Center Park
o Improvements to other downtown parks
 Sustainable Resource District Utilities (est.
$159m/TBD)
o District Energy or CHP
o Recycled/Non-Potable Water
*Transit Center Program-related

32. Existing Fee Requirements & Revenues
 Affordable Housing: $117M
o Jobs-Housing Linkage (Commercial) -- $20/sf
o Inclusionary Housing (Residential) – 15% on-site/20% off-site
 Transit: $60M
o $12/sf (SFMTA only)
 Downtown Open Space: $12M
o $2/sf (Commercial only; for Recreation & Parks Dept.)
 Childcare: $6M
o $1/sf (Commercial only)
 Water and Wastewater Capacity: $5M
 Schools

33. Funding Program from Additional Fees
and Special Taxing District
 Public Improvements -- except transit system costs-
- fully funded through new Plan-related revenues and
existing dedicated funding sources
 TJPA Revenue :
$700+/- M NPV for Downtown Rail Extension, City
Park
(from Mello-Roos and Impact Fees)

34. www.sfplanning.org