Bay Area Celebrates Historic Groundbreaking for “Grand Central Station of the West”

Federal, state and local officials joined together with the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) today to officially break ground on the Transbay Transit Center — the northern terminus for the planned California High-Speed Rail system. The multimodal facility will accommodate 11 transit operators and serve more than 45 million passengers a year.

A stellar line-up of dignitaries participated in the event, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California), Congressman George Miller (D-Martinez), S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom and Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr., chairman of the TJPA Board and executive director/chief executive officer of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees Muni.

“Today, in breaking ground on the Transbay Transit Center, we are opening a new chapter in that history of progress,” Pelosi said. “We are coming together to create jobs and revitalize our economy to make San Francisco once again a national model for economic development...We are laying the first building block (for the) Grand Central Station of the West, connecting cities and communities throughout the region and across the state.’”

Funded in part by the federal economic stimulus bill — the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) — the project is estimated to create more than 48,000 jobs in its first phase of construction, which will last seven years. These jobs include the people who will design, build and operate the facility, the manufacturing jobs created by the materials being utilized in the facility, and the businesses providing consumer goods and services to workers and the passengers utilizing the Transit Center.

"This is one of the most important and transformational public transportation projects in America," Lahood said in advance of the event. "Once the dust has settled, San Francisco’s skyline will be transformed — as will transportation, housing and employment choices for people across the Bay Area and beyond.”

The project’s full Phase 1 (Transit Center construction) and Phase 2 (extending Caltrain to the new terminal) along with build-out of the Redevelopment Plan for the surrounding area is expected to increase the gross regional product in the Bay Area by $80 billion.

Newsom pointed to five reasons to celebrate the groundbreaking: the "tens of thousands of jobs that will begin anew with the demolition and the reconstruction"; the creation of a brand-new neighborhood with "street-level vibrancy" and 2,600 housing units — 35% of them below market rate — along with an iconic skyscraper; the arrival of high-speed rail; and the leadership on the part of the assembled dignitaries that made it all possible.

The new five-story, 1-million square foot Transbay Transit Center is destined to become a San Francisco landmark and will feature a 5.4-acre public park on its roof.

The Transit Center's main entrance will be at ground level, off Mission Street. The second floor will contain administrative offices, as well as space for support services and possible retail. Above that will be a bus deck. Below ground will be two levels serving rail passengers, including a concourse level and, at the lowest level, a train platform with six tracks for Caltrain and high-speed trains.

“We are very proud of what our facility will do for San Francisco, and we are equally proud of the fact that we will become the first new station on the High-Speed Rail system to move into construction,” said the TJPA's Ford in prepared remarks.

The Transbay Transit Center will replace San Francisco’s outdated and seismically deficient Transbay Terminal at First and Mission streets, which is slated for demolition shortly. The original terminal, which opened in 1939, officially closed this past Friday night, and the numerous bus systems using the terminal shifted operations to a temporary facility a couple of blocks away.

The $4.2 billion Transbay Transit Center Project is funded by various partners including the federal government, the state of California, MTC, the San Francisco County and San Mateo County Transportation Authorities, and AC Transit, among others. The first phase of the program, which includes constructing the new Transit Center, is fully funded.

MTC has set aside over $350 million in bridge tolls for the project. Of this pot, $150 million is from Regional Measure 2 funds approved by Bay Area voters. The bridge toll funding is not only helping to finance the new terminal, but also financed construction of the temporary Transbay Terminal and is covering the demolition of the old Transbay Terminal.

Attending the event were MTC Commissioners Jon Rubin and Chris Daly, both of whom represent San Francisco, and Commissioner Sue Lempert of San Mateo County.

Acting as MC was TJPA Executive Director Maria Ayerdi-Kaplan.

"Here is what we are delivering to the public starting today," she said. "The first new high-speed rail station in the country, the first modern regional bus station in more than 60 years, (and) after more than 100 years, a downtown San Francisco train station, all in one modern landmark building designed by world-class architects and engineers that will be surrounded by new residents and new workers."

"This will be a 21st century building for a 21st century region and state, and a world-class building for a world-class city," Ayerdi-Kaplan added.

The new Transbay Transit Center is scheduled to open in August 2017.