California Construction News staff writer
After more than a decade of community visioning and grassroots organizing, San Francisco is breaking ground on the $34 million transformation of Buchanan Street Mall—a five-block corridor in the heart of the Western Addition that will be reimagined as a vibrant public space.
The project, led by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department in partnership with Citizen Film and the Trust for Public Land, will be built by contractor McGuire and Hester, with Success Centers leading workforce development to ensure local residents help shape and construct the space.
It is expected to see about 410 construction jobs potentially created each year during the building phase,
A collaboration between the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, the Trust for Public Land (TPL), Citizen Film, Success Centers, and other local organizations, the renovation will include:
- A Memory Walk spanning all five blocks, featuring decorative paving, monumental gateways, historical storytelling, and public art.
- Improved lighting, safety features, and landscaping to enhance accessibility and security.
- New spaces for play, exercise, performances, and neighborhood events.
- Kiosks for education and small business opportunities.
The $34 million project is funded through a mix of federal, state, and local sources. Rec and Park is partnering with Fillmore-based Success Centers as the project’s workforce development lead. Success Centers is running pre-apprenticeship training for local residents, offering support services to remove barriers to employment. They are working closely with Rec and Park, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development’s CityBuild program, and contractor McGuire and Hester to place trainees in jobs on the project.
“The project is truly deserved by our youth and community, and it’s an honor to have the opportunity to work on it,” said resident Erin Westry, a graduate of the construction training program. “Being able to contribute to my own neighborhood means so much, especially knowing that others here look up to me. It’s a blessing to be part of something that will benefit the children—they deserve it.”
Designed to promote intergenerational connections and healing, the renovated Buchanan Street Mall will reflect the resilience of a community that endured decades of redevelopment and disinvestment.
The project’s vision was shaped through neighborhood feedback gathered in over 20 community events, design workshops, healing and listening circles, as well as more than 1,150 survey responses and 12 documentary videos. Local residents recorded personal stories and were hired to contribute to early design prototypes.
The conceptual design, developed by the Office of Cheryl Barton with input from Studio MLA, was approved by the Recreation and Park Commission in April 2020.
San Francisco Public Works is providing landscape design, engineering, and construction management services for the project, which is anticipated to be completed in late 2026.
“The Buchanan Mall renovation embodies a collaborative partnership involving City departments and the Fillmore community that incorporates environmentally sustainable components, such as rain gardens and drought-tolerant native plants, as well as art and other beautification elements that help tell the story of this iconic neighborhood,” said Public Works Director Carla Short. “Today’s groundbreaking marks an exciting milestone in the transformation of this important public space.”
Originally a road and later built as a pedestrian corridor by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency in 1975, Buchanan Street Mall was transferred to Rec and Park in 1976 and underwent renovations in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with additional repairs in the early 2000s.
A grassroots effort in 2015—led by Citizen Film and Green Streets, and supported by the Exploratorium Studio for Public Space—brought new life to the space with temporary gardens, seating, historical displays, and audio dome installations sharing community stories—laying the groundwork for the renovation.
Grassroots professional storytelling nonprofit Citizen Film has been organizing in the Fillmore since 2014, asking neighbors about their hopes and dreams for their neighborhood park and working tirelessly to ensure the authentic vision comes to pass.
