CCSF’s Promise to Bayview Caught in Legal Purgatory

Construction is underway at 1550 Evans, but not on the building that Bayview residents were promised. Five years after City College earmarked $34.5 million for a new education facility at the site, the district has yet to secure the land agreement required to start building. 

The college pledged the project as part of its $845 million bond passed in 2020. The plan called for a modern education center, built in partnership with SFUSD and San Francisco State University, to reinforce City College’s physical presence in Bayview and expand dual-enrollment and workforce programs. 

Unfortunately for the Bayview community, the Board of Trustees approved the bond measure without addressing a core obstacle. The land belongs to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and California law restricts spending bond money on property not owned or controlled by the district. 

Horticulture Department Chair Steven Brown summed up the 1550 Evans situation quite well at a recent Facilities Committee meeting: “That whole issue has turned into a nightmare mess.”

Internal questions emerged early. Bond counsel raised concerns in 2020, and trustees temporarily removed 1550 Evans from the project list for further review. The site was reinstated only two weeks later, following significant public pressure, including testimony from District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton. 

In an email to The Guardsman responding to a request for comment, Supervisor Walton said he planned to meet with City College and SFPUC “to learn of any updates.”

The concept for a Bayview education center predates the bond by several years. In 2017 and 2018, then-Chancellor Mark Rocha promoted a partnership between City College, SFUSD, and SFSU to respond to an SFPUC request for an institution willing to “finance, construct, own and operate” an education center at 1550 Evans. 

City College and its partner institutions were the only respondents to SFPUC’s request. In their 2018 submission, obtained by The Guardsman, City College described itself as financially capable of developing and operating the facility and proposed two funding paths: a public-private partnership or a future bond measure. 

During board discussions, some trustees questioned the plan. Former Trustee John Rizzo directly asked why the college would invest bond dollars into land it did not control. “I do not see why we would not build on our own property instead,” Rizzo said in 2018.

The college already operates the Evans Center, an active City College campus located half a block from 1550 Evans.

Despite these concerns, the proposal remained. By the time the voters approved the bond, the college still lacked the legal authority to build on the property. 

The stakes for Bayview are tied to a history of environmental injustice. In the 1970s and 80s, the SFPUC expanded its Southeast wastewater treatment plant, ignoring community opposition. The original Southeast Community Facility at 1800 Oakdale was built in the mid-1980s as partial mitigation. City College taught classes there since its opening until the SFPUC kicked them out of the building in 2023. 

Music instructor Harry Bernstein has been following the project for years, saying it has the potential to restore a long-term commitment to the neighborhood. “I can't think of a community that's been more harmed relentlessly over the years,” he said of Bayview.

Bernstein also supported the idea of coordinated public education across institutions. “Just imagine if there were a cooperative venture that involved all the levels of public education in San Francisco,” he said.

But concerns persisted about whether the SFPUC would influence the academic programming at this shared facility. In a 2021 Board of Trustees meeting, Bernstein warned that the SFPUC had a “known history of trying to micromanage class offerings to suit the needs of the utility and its future employees.” 

On the original request that City College responded to, the first criterion on their list was a “commitment to offering academic programs aligned with water/wastewater industry needs.” Bernstein's concerns in this area remain unresolved. 

Meanwhile, the SFPUC has moved forward with its own plans. The sleek new Southeast Community Center opened in 2022, and in September 2025, construction began on an interim outdoor space on the parcel of land reserved for the instructional building. The project will create a flexible public space for farmers' markets and other outdoor events, while the timeline for the education center still remains unclear. 

Inside the college, the project has drifted through years of leadership turnover. City College has had four chancellors since 2020, and negotiations with the SFPUC have stalled each time. At Facilities Committee meetings, administrators regularly report no progress. 

Vice Chancellor of Facilities Alberto Vasquez has been candid about the barriers. The SFPUC has not agreed to a 30-year lease, which the bond lawyers say is the minimum needed for the district to legally invest bond funds. “Without that, we can’t take a step forward,” Vasquez said.

Even if the ownership issue were resolved, questions remain about whether the project still fits the college’s needs. Enrollment is low, and the budget is ever-tightening with the college’s existing footprint. 

Still, some faculty believe the original vision remains worth pursuing. “I would like them to negotiate a fitting agreement that is honest and maybe start over,” Bernstein said. “With the best possible outcome, it could bring people together.”

For now, the only construction happening at 1550 Evans is the project SFPUC chose to build in the interim. City College’s $34.5 million commitment remains fenced off and out of reach.