Buchanan Street Mall Renovation Project

Buchanan Street Mall is a pedestrian walkway and city park that runs through a five-block section of the Western Addition, from Eddy Street to Grove Street. Its renovation, planned with neighbors and local community organizations, will transform the park into a safe, vibrant hub for recreation, arts, culture, and inter-generational connection. The project also includes sewer improvements and new green infrastructure, in collaboration with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Construction is underway April 2025-late 2026.

• Read our latest update >> (posted February 10, 2026)
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Background

The Buchanan Street Mall was built by the then-San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, opened to the public in 1975, and transferred to the Recreation and Park Department in 1976. The park underwent major renovations in the late 1980s and early 1990s and received repairs in the early 2000s. 

After years of underuse, the Buchanan Street Mall came alive again in 2015 after the San Francisco Recreation and Park department, project partners, and community members celebrated the first activation: installation of temporary gardens, benches, archways, historical photos, lighting, and two "audio-domes" providing stories from the neighborhood.

In 2017, after extensive outreach and input from the community, the Buchanan Street Mall Vision Plan was complete. This plan has helped guide Rec and Park and key partners Citizen Film, Green Streets, and Trust for Public Land, to create a conceptual design for the entire five blocks of the park. The concept plan was developed by the Office of Cheryl Barton, with support from Studio MLA, and was approved by the Recreation and Parks Commission in April 2020. The concept plan provided an essential story on why funding was vital while also helping to guide future capital investment for the community. 

With the support of key partners and city, state, and federal funding, Rec and Park has secured over $30 million for this project. We are working with Public Works on detailing the design and will renovate all five blocks of Buchanan Mall, including the installation of decorative paving and foundational art elements along a new Memory Walk, and three park-activation kiosks to support education and entrepreneurship in the Fillmore.

Key Project Goals

• Safety, lighting, and beautification
• Connect all blocks and unify the community
• Tell the story of the community and the neighborhood
• Social interaction and multi-generational recreation
• Skills training and jobs creation
• Urban greening and stormwater management

Park Improvement Equity Action Initiative

Rec and Park launched a Park Improvement Equity Action Initiative, after hearing directly from the Fillmore Community and key partner organizations on the importance of public investments translating to a park project that is meaningful to the community. That means we are focusing on strengthening the neighborhood, creating equitable economic opportunity, and improving health and wellness for everyone in the Western Addition. 

This PIEA Initiative will ensure that the Buchanan Street Mall Renovation Project is a community driven process that centers the rich culture, legacy, and identity of the neighborhood. Thank you to Senator Scott Wiener for securing State funding that will go towards transforming the park while uplifting the community.

Estimated Project Schedule

Note: Design for park renovations has proceeded block by block, as funding became available.

Funding 

The Buchanan Street Mall conceptual design was funded by The Trust for Public Land and its donors. 

This project was funded by private donations and public sources including:

• 2012 Neighborhood Parks Bond Let’sPlaySF! program
• 2020 Health and Recovery Bond
• Development impact fees
• San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
• State Budget allocation from Senator Wiener
• Prop 68 Statewide Parks Grant
• Outdoor Recreational Legacy Partnership grant through the National Park Service
• And other public funds

Resources

• Memory Walk Concept Design, September 2023
• Eddy to Turk Schematic Design by SF Public Works
• Turk to Golden Gate Schematic Design by SF Public Works
• Golden Gate to McAllister Schematic Design by SF Public Works
• McAllister to Fulton Schematic Design by SF Public Works
• Fulton to Grove Schematic Design by SF Public Works
• Park Conceptual Design by Office of Cheryl Barton
• Video about Buchanan Street Mall visioning process

#BuchananChange

Project Partners

1. The Trust for Public Land - A national nonprofit founded in San Francisco in 1972 to create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. TPL funded the conceptual design contract and is supporting community outreach and engagement and the development of the Memory Walk through administering a Prop 68 Statewide Parks project grant. 
2. Citizen Film - A nationally recognized nonprofit that uses documentary storytelling, including film, oral histories, and other media, as a tool to foster dialogue about solutions to local problems. Citizen Film has partnered with Green Streets to engage neighbors, tell stories of community empowerment, facilitate park activation, and develop artwork and interpretive elements along the Memory Walk.
3. Green Streets - The staff of this small local business were key community organizers and members of the Design Task Force, which developed the Activation design and continue to connect the community to the project and cultivate new opportunity for local entrepreneurs. Green Streets is a social enterprise providing environmental services and beautification through recycling, composting, and community education programs.
4. The Exploratorium - Exploratorium Studio for Public Spaces works in the public realm to create exhibits and environments that encourage play, exploration, creativity, and social connection. The Exploratorium Studio designed the initial activation project and facilitated a unique community design-build process. The studio continues to advise on the project.
5. Success Centers - As part of the Park Improvement Equity Action Initiative, Rec and Park is collaborating with local nonprofit Success Centers to create hyperlocal jobs and skills trainings through park renovations construction contract, workforce development, and entrepreneur cultivation. Success Centers has 40 years of experience breaking down barriers to empower communities and build new pathways to success.

Project Updates

If you would like to receive updates about the Buchanan Street Mall Renovation Project, please visit the News Flash section of our webpage and subscribe to "Rec Park Improvements: Buchanan Street Mall." To receive updates about all our active projects, subscribe to "Rec Park Improvements | All Project Updates."