Dear Neighbor,
I am pleased to announce that late yesterday we completed lease negotiations with the owner of the Pagoda Palace -- a major step forward in our efforts to relocate the retrieval site for the Central Subway's tunnel boring machines (TBMs). The lease allows us to demolish the existing building and use the property to retrieve the TBMs, meaning we won’t have to do so in the public right-of-way on Columbus Avenue. We thank the community, Mayor Lee, Supervisor David Chiu, numerous city agencies, and the property owner for their support and cooperation in achieving this agreement. You can view the press announcement here.
In the coming weeks, we will seek to acquire the necessary approvals to finalize the construction plan. In our last communication, we notified you that the Planning Commission will consider a Special Use District (SUD) for the Pagoda Palace site at its meeting today, Thursday, February 14, at 12 p.m. The SUD would allow the owner of the Pagoda Palace to move forward with a previously approved development project after the building is demolished and the TBMs extracted. Its passage is integral to finalizing the retrieval site change. You can find information about the meeting online here.
On Tuesday, February 19, the SFMTA Board of Directors will consider the Pagoda Palace lease, and on Monday, February 25, the Board of Supervisors’ Land Use Committee plans to consider the SUD.
As always, we welcome and encourage public comment at these meetings.
To ensure the public and our partner agencies remain informed as we proceed, we have prepared a memo that describes our construction plan, the lease terms, and our process in pursuing this change. The memo also comprehensively addresses concerns that have been raised about the relocation plan. I want to assure you that we have pursued this project with all due adherence to environmental regulation and engineering best practices. You can read the memo online here.
Thank you for your continued participation as we work to respond to your concerns about the Central Subway's North Beach construction work.
Sincerely,
Edward D. Reiskin
SFMTA Director of Transportation