After months of community input, SF Rec & Parks officials unveiled revised designs Tuesday for Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park, just as workers have begun disassembling the Vaillancourt Fountain.
The plans and discussions march on with the proposed $40 million reimagining of Embarcadero Plaza, which have now been in the works for over two years. Representatives from the city and the Department of Recreation and Parks. Gone will be the brick-lined plaza as it has been for over 50 years, and gone will be the 710-ton Vaillancourt Fountain, which workers began deconstructing earlier this week.
In their place will be a grand, oval-shaped main lawn at the foot of Market Street, surrounded by areas for performances, food trucks, and outdoor dining. And over by the existing playground at Sue Bierman Park will be a second lawn space, a fitness area, and a designated dog-play area for residents who live in nearby housing complexes, like the highrise Gateway Apartments.
The revised design was presented at a community meeting Tuesday evening, as ABC7 reports.
"Everything you see today, we've gathered that community input and we put on paper," said Rec & Parks spokesperson Tamara Barak Aparton, per ABC7. "We want to make downtown come alive again. We have such a beautiful waterfront. This should be part of it."
Eoanna Goodwin, the project manager at Rec & Parks, added, per the Chronicle, "We heard about a lot of people wanting a world-class, iconic park, and that’s what we are delivering."
Earlier renderings had included some imagined public art, and that will likely be added back as well.
The estimated cost of the project has risen to $40 million from an initial $32.5 million, according to the department, because of added elements as well as the $4 million pricetag to remove the Vaillancourt Fountain.
As the Chronicle notes, previous community meetings on the project have been dominated by discussions about the fate of the fountain, with its supporters arguing that it should have been saved and this park renovation should happen around it.
The fountain's fate was sealed, however, with a court ruling earlier this month which sided with city officials, who have deemed the fountain a public safety hazard both because of structural issues and the presence of lead and asbestos. The fountain is set to be moved into storage for a period of three years, during which time the SF Arts Commission plans to make a final decision on the permanent deaccession of the fountain.
Reactions from the public seemed mostly positive, according to the Chronicle. But at least one grumpy neighbor was unimpressed.
Speaking to ABC7, Cynthia Waulfsberg, who has lived in the neighborhood for 46 years, says, "It's a waste of money. Why are you fixing something that isn't broken. Go fix something that is really in need."
Previously: Mayor Breed Presses Forward With Embarcadero Plaza Revamp on Eve of Election
