SFMTA owns property all over San Francisco, including parking lots, bus yards, and garages. In an effort to address its $50 million dollar budget deficit, the agency wants to use some of its real estate holdings to try and generate revenue by creating residential and commercial spaces. To do this, it’ll collaborate with property developers.
The Board of Directors wants to avoid relying on tax increases to help SFMTA stay afloat. One current SFMTA project is an affordable housing development in Potrero Yard. But the project has been in development for six years and has doubled in cost. San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar wants to make sure that the priority is for funding transit rather than anything else.
State Senator Scott Wiener recently introduced Senate Bill 79, which would give SFMTA authority over the land it owns. SB-79 would also allow the agency to turn the land around transit stations into multi-family housing. San Francisco has a state-mandated requirement to plan for 80,000 housing units by 2031. While SFMTA reevaluates its land use, San Francisco’s Planning Department is studying current transit corridors for potential rezoning. The plan will be up for approval January 31st, 2026.
