Makeover of S.F. Chinatown park delayed as construction bids come in $10M too high
The bidding process for Portsmouth Square, the city's oldest park, will now start over with a call to be sent out in September, when construction was intended to begin. Bids will be due in late October, with groundbreaking anticipated for March.
'The cost overage is due to global tariffs, ongoing supply chain challenges and widespread construction inflation,' said Tamara Aparton, spokesperson for the Recreation and Park Department, which owns and operates the square.
Aparton said the renovation job is budgeted by the city engineer at a ceiling of $43 million, and the lowest of the three bids bid came in at $54.7 million. Rec and Park will try to bring the cost down by using cheaper construction materials and fencing, and cutting back on amenities that are not crucial to the experience in a heavily used 1.3-acre park known as 'Chinatown's living room.'
The fundamental features of the design, which include a new children's playground and neighborhood clubhouse, a rotating art wall and gathering spaces under a trellis, will not change. The park will not have to be redesigned, which would have potentially delayed the project for years, on top of a decade of delays already incurred. By staying close to schedule, access to city and state bond funds will not be threatened.
'The good news is that it is still on track,' Aparton said. 'Construction is still expected to begin in March 2026, right after the Lunar New Year and just 5½ months later than originally planned.'
Still to be determined is who will cover the $4 million to $5 million cost of removal for the pedestrian bridge that spans Kearny Street and connects the square to the Hilton Financial District hotel and the attached Chinese Culture Center. The demolition of the span, known as 'the bridge to nowhere,' is a major aspect to the park design, but funding for the removal has been in dispute for years.
'While the city works through the bid process for the project, we are separately continuing to negotiate the outstanding issues related to the allocation of demolition costs between the city and the Hilton,' said Jen Kwart, spokesperson for the city attorney of San Francisco. 'The bid process will continue to proceed independent of the negotiations regarding cost allocation.'
Counting the cost of studies, permits, outreach, project management, infrastructure improvements, and other ancillary expenses, the overall project has been valued at $71 million. Construction is expected to take 26 months and be completed in the summer of 2028.
Portsmouth Square is a vital community outdoor space used daily by Chinatown residents, many of whom live in small single-room occupancy apartments. Neighborhood activists were informed of the restart of the bidding process at a community meeting last week.
'They seem to be pretty certain that it will only delay the project by five months,' said Annie Cheung, president and CEO of Self-Help for the Elderly, which runs classes, workshops and training programs out of the Portsmouth Square Clubhouse. She's been involved in planning for the new park for at least 12 years, and is hopeful that this is the last of many false starts.
'The community has been waiting for a long time for the new park,' she said. 'Most of our Chinatown residents live in SROs, and Portsmouth Square is our only major park and open space. No more delay.'
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