Supes inch toward North Beach subway site

Two San Francisco supervisors have started the process to make an offer to purchase a piece of property for a possible expansion of the Central Subway into the city’s North Beach neighborhood, the supervisors announced Thursday.

Supervisors Julie Christensen anad Scott Wiener have asked The City’s Real Estate Division to appraise the property at 1741 Powell St. where the Pagoda Theater once stood.

Christensen’s aide Gary McCoy said the supervisor initiated the process Tuesday. The appraisal would give city officials the ability to negotiate a sale with the property owner.

The assessed value of the property is $4,909,477, according to the San Francisco Assessor-Recorder’s Office. The assessed value may be different from the appraised value.

McCoy did not say how much the city would be willing to pay for the property.

The Central Subway line, currently under construction and set to open in 2017, will connect the city’s South of Market neighborhood to Chinatown. The Pagoda Theater site would help extend the system to North Beach and Fisherman’s Wharf, as some city officials like Christensen and Wiener have called for.

Two large tunnel boring machines went 8,500 feet underground from SoMa and ended at the Pagoda Theater site last year as part of the subway project.

Christensen has made attempts to talk with the property owner about purchasing the property, according to her office. The owners are currently planning to build 19 luxury condominiums and a restaurant there.

Christensen said in a statement:

“Losing this site for a proposed luxury condo project, without first exploring options to purchase the property, would be an enormous loss for the neighborhood and The City.”

Wiener said in a statement:

“San Francisco needs more subways, and extending the Central Subway north is a key part of expanding our inadequate subway network. … The Pagoda Theater is a critical site, and the city needs to get it together and purchase it.”