By San Franciscans for Sports & Recreation
In the July edition of Courtside SF, we reported the news that the developer of the Bay Club SF Tennis property at Fifth and Brannan Streets had reached an agreement with club members and the San Franciscans for Sports and Recreation coalition that included the building of 12 indoor tennis courts and investment in public recreational facilities in San Francisco.
As you may recall, the developer, Alexandria Real Estate Equities and TMG Partners, offered to include in its plans a subterranean tennis center beneath the proposed 870,000-square-foot office building. In addition, they agreed to pay for the resurfacing of 24 public tennis courts as well as contribute an undisclosed amount of money to build public recreation sites.
San Franciscans for Sports and Recreation has been kind enough to share this update about the court resurfacing project and funding for public recreation sites.
Court Resurfacing Update
The court resurfacing committee, led by Seth Socolow, has been busy working with the SF Recreation and Parks Department (SFRPD) to identify the 24 courts that will be resurfaced as part of Alexandria Real Estate's commitment to San Franciscans for Sports and Recreation. So far they have identified 11 courts at 8 different sites to be part of the first wave of newly resurfaced courts. They have received estimates from multiple court resurfacing contractors for these locations.
The Committee will continue to work with SFRPD to identify the remaining 13 courts and are also working with Alexandria to determine the details of how they will deliver this gift to San Francisco. The goal is to have the first public courts resurfaced by spring 2017.
Recreation Fund Committee Update
One of the most exciting elements of our July agreement is the developer's commitment to donate $1 million to public recreation in San Francisco.
Committee co-chair Tricia Weaver Moss attended an initial meeting with the Director of SFRPD at which the City shared a preliminary and informal list of potential fund recipients.
In coming months, the Recreation Fund Committee will meet internally and work with SFRPD to identify fund recipients. The committee will then recommend its candidates to the developer for final approval.
Donation of the funds is contingent upon the closing of the sale of the club, which has not yet occurred.