San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) had been considering options to modernize and expand an over 100-year-old bus maintenance and storage facility. At the same time, the agency planned a future transition of its electric trolley fleet to battery-electric buses.
To modernize the bus yard to meet the SFMTA’s needs for the next hundred years, the SFMTA worked with the local community and city agencies to develop the Potrero Yard Modernization Project. This modernization vision included providing affordable housing jointly developed with the renovated bus yard.
As the SFMTA’s financial advisor, Arup structured the project and shaped its procurement strategy. We assisted the SFMTA with market soundings, financial feasibility, and affordability analysis. Our team of experts drafted the procurement documentation, prepared a comprehensive set of performance-based technical requirements, and supported the SFMTA to manage the procurement process, including proposals evaluation, winner selection and support during the pre-development phase, up until final negotiation of the implementation proposal.
By combining the replacement of aging infrastructure, improving transit efficiency across the system, with new housing, the project will deliver significant social value.
Delivering successful procurement advisory
Arup helped resolve different commercial, financial, and technical requirements to balance the SFMTA’s risk-transfer to risk-retention project equation between the bus yard and the housing components.
Our strategy added value to the SFMTA’s project through:
An infrastructure developer-led procurement giving the SFMTA a single point of responsibility for delivery of the Project’s two major components, the bus yard public infrastructure and an affordable housing real estate development
A progressive P3 procurement that delivered competition, innovation, and clarity of responsibilities between the infrastructure developer and the housing developer
A predevelopment phase that reconciled environmental and planning approvals, community outreach, development of the financing structure, resolution of risk allocation and responsibilities for long-term facility maintenance, mitigation of major risks, and selection of the construction contractor for final pricing
What we delivered
Served as Financial Advisor, shaping project structure to meet affordability, technical, and affordable housing goals.
Drafted procurement documents, managed process, and supported the SFMTA through bidder selection and negotiations.
Currently providing project management, financial advice, design review, and commissioning services.
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