The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) released the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the Potrero Yard Modernization Project — an innovative project that will replace the obsolete bus facility and yard with a modern, three-story bus maintenance and storage garage, equipped to serve the SFMTA’s fleet as it grows and transitions to battery-electric vehicles.

It will also enable more efficient trolley bus maintenance, enhance the agency’s resilience to climate change and natural disasters, and ensure that SFMTA staff are able to perform their work with enhanced safety and efficiency measures.

“Potrero Yard is our second oldest bus yard in the Muni system and prior to Covid-19 carried 14% of our total ridership,” said Director of Transportation Jeffrey Tumlin. “Rebuilding the yard is not only important for keeping our buses running now and into the future, but also for realizing an incredible opportunity to support the city’s housing and affordable housing goals above the yard.”

The first-in-the-nation mixed-use bus yard will not only store and maintain 213 buses, increasing capacity by approximately 50%, it will also include up to 575 rental units of housing with an initial affordability target of 50%. The city’s commitment to addressing a citywide shortage of affordable housing means this project also challenges potential developers to seek additional funds to maximize the affordability percentage, even up to 100% affordable.

The facility will include the following features:

• LEED Gold Certification

• Built to an elevated structural and seismic standard

• Infrastructure for battery-electric buses

• Centralized location for Street Operations — Muni’s “first responders”

• Centralized, modern space for Muni operator training

• Ground floor active uses on Bryant and possibly 17th streets

The RFQ initiates the process to select a developer partner to design and build the project. The RFQ process will evaluate the qualifications of proposed project teams and determine up to three top responders based on an evaluation of relevant experience and qualifications. The top responders will then be invited to submit a full proposal through a subsequent Request for Proposals (RFP) process that will be issued in early 2021. The city strongly encourages all potential respondents to elevate the participation and contribution of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and underrepresented voices as teams are formed. Respondent teams should reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of San Francisco and participation of underrepresented communities.