Salesforce Park Re-Opens July 1st

After being closed for a little more than 9 months, the Salesforce Transit Center and rooftop park are finally scheduled to reopen on July 1, 2019.

Following eight years of construction, SF’s new $2.2 billion Transit Center was shut down after having only been open for about 6 weeks when two cracked steel beams were found.

The cracks have been repaired and a facility-wide safety inspection has been completed.

While Muni bus service doesn’t have an exact date when it will resume, the Transit Center, Grand Hall, Food Trucks and 5.4 acre rooftop park will re-open at 6am on July 1st.

Salesforce Park & Transit Center Re-opens
Monday, July 1, 2019 | 6am to 9pm daily (until Nov. 1 when it closes at 8pm)
FREE and open to the public
More Info: Free Events | Salesforce Park | Transit Center | About the Fix

New to the center is a privately operated gondola with direct access to the park, free to the public from Salesforce Plaza at Mission and Fremont streets.

When Will Bus Service Resume?
Muni and Golden Gate Transit will provide bus service from the street level bus plaza in “early July.” AC Transit’s 26 Transbay bus lines, Greyhound and Westcat Lynx anticipate service from the bus deck to resume in late summer 2019 following operator training and rider notice.  – Updated as of 6/11/19

• July 1, 2019: The Transit Center opens to the public (Grand Hall, Salesforce Park, and all surrounding alleys and throughways). Food Trucks available on Natoma Street.
• Early July 2019: The street level Bus Plaza accessible by Fremont and Beale streets, between Mission and Howard streets opens for Muni (5 5R, 7, 38, 38R) and Golden Gate Transit bus service.
• Late Summer 2019: The third level bus deck serving AC Transit and other regional buses and featuring a direct connection to the Bay Bridge opens for service.

Will There Be Free Events at Salesforce Park?
Yes! We are told that there will be a full schedule free events at the park like before the closure with tons of concerts, fitness classes, kids events, etc. We are told that these activities will resume July 1st. We’ll update this post as soon as any events are announced.

Features at the Salesforce Transit Center

• Free Public WiFi
• Regional and local bus service
• Bus ramp with direct access to Bay Bridge
• Rooftop public park with free events and activities
• Food trucks on Natoma Street
• Pop Up Retail
• Transit fare kiosks
• Bike lockers and racks
• Beautiful public art
• Ambassadors and 24 hour security
• Park access via privately-operated gondola from Mission/Fremont

About the Review

The MTC empaneled five nationally-recognized experts in steel structures, fracture mechanics and metallurgy. They reviewed and approved TJPA’s sampling and testing plan; identification of the root cause of the failure; the temporary shoring design, and the steel girder repair and reinforcement. In addition, they affirmed the designer’s findings that no other areas were susceptible to brittle fracture (found and repaired at the Fremont Street location). The panel oversaw the designer’s efforts and independently affirmed the designer’s conclusion that the transit center can now reopen to the public.

Salesforce Tower Gondola – Opening July 1?

One of the most fun ways to get the rooftop park isn’t via a boring old escalator or elevator, but by a brand new downtown gondola system with a 20-passenger glass cabin which will connect the Mission Square (the new plaza of the Salesforce Tower at Mission and Fremont) to the rooftop park. The Transbay Joint Powers Authority is implying that the Gondola will be ready for July 1st, but Boston Properties, who owns the gondola, has not yet 100% confirmed this. Stay tuned…

SF’s New 5.4 Acre Rooftop Park

The sustainable building, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, is topped by a 5.4-acre rooftop public park and event space planted with 600 trees and 16,000 plants featuring an amphitheater, gardens, trails, open grass areas, children’s play space, a restaurant and cafe.

How to Get up to the Rooftop Park
Until the Gondola is ready, there are many escalators and elevators which will take you to the rooftop park. The best entrances are 1st and Natoma as well as the Grand Hall at 425 Mission at Fremont.

The Central Plaza is the hardscape (glass and stone floor) section in the middle of the transit center, adjacent to the Salesforce Tower bridge.

• The easiest way to access it by elevator is via the elevators on the south side of 1st St.
• The easiest way to access it by escalator is from the Grand Hall. Those escalators touch down on the Bus Deck, and if the visitors walk forward to the next group of escalators, those will take them to the Park.
• Visitors can also access via the Salesforce Tower bridge. They need to take the public elevators, accessed from a lobby on northeast corner of Salesforce Tower (at the corner of the Tower closest to Salesforce Plaza and the Salesforce Transit Center).

Cool Art
Dancing fountains at Salesforce Park are triggered by sensors that respond to the vibrations of the flow of buses on the deck below.

Rooftop Park Hours
Please note that these hours may change. The TJPA is a bit cagey in their wording for the park hours with language like “will close by not later than 9:00pm.” – More information on park hours and rules.

• Winter (November 1 – April 30) – 6am to 8pm
• Summer (May 1 – October 31) – 6am to 9pm

Other Park Rules

• No pets (other than guide/signal dogs)
• No picnic/dance/social gathering of more than 25 people
• No religious event or parade more than 50 people
• No concert/performance/fair/circus which has been publicized more than 4 hours in advance – so perhaps this means that lightly-publicized pop-up events are allowed?
• No bikes, skateboards, scooters, etc… any “wheeled” conveyance, other than wheelchairs and strollers.

The park, which is just over a quarter mile long, rivals New York’s High Line Park and will feature an array of spaces, including both active and quiet areas featuring both organized events like concerts and fairs, as well as unstructured natural settings in which visitors can relax.

The vibrant plaza which sits at the center of the park will receive the largest influx of visitors from the building’s main escalator and elevator which connect to the ground level.

The park’s western end will feature an amphitheater and stage for programmed performances. Interspersed throughout the park, display gardens which flower and provide visual interest year-round will be planted.

In addition to the botanic displays, open lawn areas will allow visitors to enjoy the park setting. Children will also find places for active and dynamic exploration in the Children’s Play Gardens. These areas will fit seamlessly into the overall park plan, but will contain garden elements and constructions that offer varied perceptions and experiences.