When the new Transbay Transit Center was announced, one of its highlights was expected to be its “City Park,” a public 5.4-acre rooftop park. Touted as one of the building's "many environmentally-friendly building features," it sounds pretty great (and you can watch a video about how rad it is supposed to be is here)! Unfortunately, it looks like this urban oasis might not be built after all, due to massive cost overruns for the construction project. Let's look at the numbers.
- $1.9 billion: The cost to build the new Transbay Transit Center
- $300 million: The amount over budget the project is, so far
- $17 million: The money Transbay Joint Powers Authority spokesman Adam Alberti says they're saving by swapping the building's planned "undulating glass skin" with perforated aluminum
- $53 million: The amount Alberti says they're saving by deciding against adding a "glass-fiber flecked finish" to Transit Center walls
- $185 million: The amount of money Houston-based company Hines is paying for the right to develop the building
- 4.5 acres: The size of City Park, which was expected to include "a wide range of activities and amenities, including an outdoor amphitheater, gardens, trails, open grass areas, and children’s play space, as well as a restaurant and cafe"
- 1,400 feet: The length of the “green roof,” which would have acted "as insulation for interior spaces, moderating heat build-up in warm weather and retaining heat during cooler weather"
- $24 million: The amount of money, "in private donations and nonprofit grants," San Francisco will have to come up with to save the City Park
- 2017: The year the Transit Center is expected to open, with or without the Park
Unless otherwise indicated, all facts and figures: Transbay Transit Center will open without signature park, Wednesday, June 25, 2014, SF Chronicle
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