Potrero Power Station Nears Groundbreaking

San Francisco's Eastern Bayfront inches closer to the city's goal of having a long stretch of interconnected large-scale development that is full of public benefits spanning China Basin south to Candlestick Point. With construction on the Pier 70 mixed-use project well underway, its neighbor directly to the south, the Potrero Power Station project, is also getting ready to move forward. 

Developer Associate Capital held a community meeting on Feb. 7 to share pre-application plans for Phase 1 of the Potrero Power Station project and provide an update on the timeline. The project is located on a 29-acre site along San Francisco’s Central Waterfront in the Dogpatch neighborhood and is aimed to transform the former industrial and commercial site into a thriving major mixed-use development that will grant public recreational access to a 1,200-foot stretch of the Bayfront previously off-limits.

Although some existing historic structures will be preserved, much demolition is ahead to make way for vertical construction. Groundbreaking is anticipated to begin this spring with site grading to ramp up over the summer. Vertical construction is scheduled to begin in 2023, setting the stage for the first buildings to be delivered by spring 2026, Associate Capital partner Enrique Landa said at the meeting.

Phase 1 will include the construction of two commercial buildings along 23rd Street, three residential buildings, new parks and the historic preservation of the crumbling Station A. Maintaining the power station’s iconic stack is a main component of the historic preservation goal for the site, and Herzog & de Meuron is tasked with the design. Foster + Partners is designing the residential buildings, one of which will offer 100% affordable housing units. 

At full build-out, the project will yield 2,600 housing units, 30% of them designated affordable, 7 acres of open space and 100K SF of neighborhood and retail amenities. The first of six phases, Phase 1 includes a total of 735 residential units and 1.5M SF of nonresidential uses including 830K SF of office, 328K SF of life sciences, 22K SF of retail, 12K SF of production, distribution and repair, 25K SF of entertainment and two child care facilities totaling 12K SF. 

Station A is being prepped for seismic strengthening that will involve structural reinforcements added to the interior and exterior of the structure with piles driven into bedrock. Landa said the work will happen soon so as to protect the structure during subsequent vibration from construction elsewhere on the site. A structure called Unit 3 is also up for preservation. 

“While this project did not begin as a preservation project, it is certainly now that, and the task at hand of Station A is really going to be an exciting journey over the next few years and one that we're looking forward to taking you all on,” Landa said at the meeting.

The park spaces being designed by landscape architecture firm Plural are envisioned to augment and connect with existing open space areas in Dogpatch. Plural partner Scott Cataffa said the open space will be “active and wild” with areas that feel like a “lush and green oasis” that seem like they are “nestled in the forest.”  Such spaces are part of the repertoire of outdoor recreation that include children’s play areas, sports fields, waterfront access and a habitat garden.

“You might move through a lush green landscape and discover a place to play and a place to kick a soccer ball,” Cataffa said at the meeting.