JULIAN: THAT WENT FOR BILLION-DOLLAR TRANS BAY CENTER WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE EPICENTER OF THE BAY AREA, BUILT TO CORRAL COMMUTERS AND SERVE AS THE URBAN CENTER OF A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD. TODAY, IT IS A VERY QUIET PLACE. LARRY: PHIL MATIER IS JOINING US NOW TO TELL US WHAT THE FUTURE OF THE NEXT GRAND CENTRAL STATION IS GOING TO BE, SINCE IT IS NOT TOO GRANT RIGHT NOW. >> THAT IS THE DRAMA. IT IS HUGE. THAT GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF HOW BIG IT IS. WHEN IT OPENED, THERE WERE HIGH HOPES IT WOULD SERVE AS AN ECONOMIC ROADWAY FOR COMMUTERS FROM ALL AROUND CALIFORNIA, ESPECIALLY L.A.. WELL, A PANDEMIC AND CHANGE IN WORKER HABITS AND WE HAVE TO ASK, IS THE TRANSIT CENTER EVER GOING TO LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS? MAYBE. FOR YEARS, THIS WAS THE VISION OF THE NEW SAN FRANCISCO. THIS WAS THE PLACE, THE HUB, GRAND CENTRAL OF THE WEST. 100,000 PEOPLE A DAY WOULD BE WALKING AS THEY WENT IN AND OUT OF THE CITY FROM HERE TO LOS ANGELES. IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT HAPPENED. >> IT IS GENERATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE. WE ARE REPLACING A TERMINAL THAT WAS BUILT IN 1939. WE BUILT THIS FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL GENERATIONS. WE HAVE CONNECTED TO EIGHT PROVIDERS. WE ONE BLOCK FROM BART AND WE ARE WORKING TO CONNECT HIGH-SPEED RAIL THROUGH DOWNTOWN, MAKING NUMBERS 10 AND 11. >> A LOT OF AMBITION, A LOT OF GOOD POINTS BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE HAVE HAD COVID, REMOTE WORK, RETAIL SHUTDOWNS IN THE CORE OF THE CITY AND MASS TRANSIT SEE YOU ABOUT ARE NOT DOING NEARLY THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS THEY WERE DOING A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. THE PROJECTIONS OF THEM DOING MORE ARE SLIM. >> NO QUESTION. OUR TRANSIT OPERATORS ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THE SAME RIDERSHIP GOOD AND WITHOUT THAT, NOT THE SAME RECOVERY. >> WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TAKE THE MASS OUT OF MASS TRANSIT? WILL IT SURVIVE? >> THERE IS A REAL CHALLENGE FOR OPERATORS IN THE COMING YEARS AS WE STRUGGLED TO GET TO A NEW NORMAL. SAN FRANCISCO IS AN AREA THAT HAS BEEN ABOUT INVENTION, REINVENTION AND INNOVATION. WE ARE GOING THROUGH A CHANGE PERIOD RIGHT NOW AND IT IS DIFFICULT ON PROPERTY OWNERS. >> THE TRANSIT PROVIDERS HAVE GONE TO THE GOVERNOR AND SAID WE NEED $1 BILLION A YEAR IN ORDER TO NOT GO OVER THE CLIFF. SO FAR, HE HAS SAID NO. COULD IT GET EVEN TIGHTER? EVEN FEWER PEOPLE? >> ONE THING WE HAVE KNOWN REGARDLESS OF THE TOPIC AREA IS CHANGE IS DIFFICULT. WE WILL GO THROUGH DIFFICULT PERIODS, BUT WE NEED TO INVEST IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE WE KNOW IN ORDER FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE TRANSIT, IT NEEDS TO BE CLEAN AND IT NEEDS TO GO WHERE THEY WANT TO GO. >> THIS IS THE BUS BAY WHERE COMMUTER BUSES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ROLLING IN REGULARLY. I SEE ONE WAY DOWN THERE, IT DOESN'T EXACTLY LOOK LIKE THE HUB OF A LOT OF TRANSIT. >> THIS IS AN AM AND PM PEAK USE. WE HAVE SEEN THE HYBRID WORK MODEL TODAY IS CONSOLIDATING AROUND THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK. >> WHEN WE OPENED, YOU HAD RIDER PROJECTIONS FOR THE BUS COMPONENT. >> THAT'S >> HOW ARE THEY MEASURING UP? PART IS 40% OF WHAT IT WAS PRE-COVID. >> WE ARE STILL AT A SIMILAR PERCENTAGE WE'VE GOT EIGHT PROVIDERS. SOME ARE DOING BETTER THAN OTHERS BUT BETWEEN 35 PERCENT TO 40%. >> THE CENTER WAS BUILT WITH THE HOPES OF LINKING SAN FRANCISCO TO LOS ANGELES VIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL. BELOW THE GROUND LEVEL IS A TWO LEVEL TRAIN STATION THAT HAS BEEN BUILT TO HOUSE A HIGH-SPEED RAIL AND LINK AN ELECTRIFIED CALTRANS SYSTEM FROM THE SOUTH BAY TO FOURTH AND KING STREETS. IF THE SYSTEM ARE FULLY FUNDED, TRAINS COULD BE STOPPING IN AND OUT OF SAN FRANCISCO BY 2033. >> WE ARE UNDERNEATH THE STREET. SOUTH OF MARKET. WE'VE GOT ABOUT FOUR CITY BLOCKS AND TWO STORIES OF A COMPLETED TRAIN BOX. THIS WAS PART OF THE LONG-TERM VISION OF THE PROGRAM. WE ARE WALKING ON THE MEZZANINE LEVEL. JUST BELOW US ARE THREE PLATFORMS. IT WILL BRING ABOUT 100,000 PASSENGERS WHEN IT IS COMPLETE. >> WHAT IT IS COMPLETE. RIGHT NOW, HIGH-SPEED RAIL IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CENTRAL VALLEY AND IT IS OVER BUDGET. IN ORDER TO COMPLETE IT, YOU ALSO HAVE TO TUNNEL ABOUT TWO MILES. >> THAT'S RIGHT. >> HOW MUCH IS THAT GOING TO COST? >> THE DOWNTOWN RAIL EXTENSION PORTAL WILL CONNECT THIS CENTER TO THE EXISTING CALTRAIN ALIGNMENT. THAT WILL GO FULLY ELECTRIC NEXT YEAR AND WE NEED TO BRING THE LAST ISLAND A HALF, TWO MILES TO CONSTRUCTION. >> HOW MUCH IS THAT EXPECTED TO COST? >> $6.9 MILLION -- WE ARE ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF THE WAY FUNDED AND WORKING TOWARD A FULL FUNDING GRANT AGREEMENT TO START TO CONSTRUCTION. >> ABOVEGROUND, THERE ARE SIGNS TO TRANSIT CENTER MAY MAKE IT. HOW LONG DO YOU THINK WE CAN CONTINUE? YOU HAVE TO PAY BILLS, RUN ELECTRICITY. ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE THE MONEY COMING IN TO KEEP IT OPEN? >> OUR OPERATING REVENUES COME FROM A COUPLE OF SOURCES. THIS CENTER IS ALMOST 90% LEASED. WE HAVE OPENED THREE RESTAURANTS . AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, WE OPENED A TAPROOM THAT HAS BECOME QUITE A DESTINATION. SALES TAX REVENUES HAVE OUTPACED THE REST OF THE CITY BECAUSE OF THAT. THE ACTIVATION DOES RELY ON COMMUTERS, BUT NOT SOLELY. WE HAVE 15,000 RESIDENTS YEAR END INTERNATIONAL VISITORS DISCOVERING OUR PARK. >> THAT MASSIVE PARK GIVES YOU A WINDOW ON WHAT THIS NEIGHBORHOOD HAS, OR COULD BECOME. TREE-LINED PATHWAYS ADMIT CONCRETE AND STEEL SURROUNDED BY EMPTY OFFICES WHERE WORKERS ONLY COME A FEW DAYS A WEEK. RESIDENCES FOR THOSE WHO TRY TO LIVE HERE. >> THIS WAS THE CENTER OF THIS ENTIRE NEW NEIGHBORHOOD THAT CAME UP WITH THIS TRANSIT CENTER. THAT INCLUDES THE SALESFORCE TOWER, WHICH IS ONE OF THE NEW ICONS OF THE CITY, AND OTHER OFFICE BUILDINGS WHICH NOW ARE AT A HIGH VACANCY RATE. PEOPLE JUST AREN'T COMING TO THEM. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? >> SAN FRANCISCO'S VACANCY RATE IS HIGHER THAN THE REST OF THE NATION BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE REMOTE FRIENDLY, INDUSTRY, TECH, FINANCE, ETC. WHERE WE ARE SEEING THE VACANCY IS MOVING FROM OUR OLDER BUILDINGS DOWNTOWN INTO OUR NEWER. THE NEWER ONES DO HAPPEN TO BE HERE BECAUSE THIS IS THE NEWEST PART OF DOWNTOWN. SOME OF THESE HAVE A LOT OF ACTIVITY. MORE SO, AS I MENTIONED, TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. >> HAVE YOU EVEN HAD A FULL YEAR TO FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU STAND? >> WE OPENED IN 2018. THERE WE ARE FIVE YEARS LATER AND WE HAVE YET TO HAVE A NORMAL 12 MONTH PERIOD OF OPERATION. WE HAVE HAD ROBUST RIDERSHIP, THEN WE CLOSED, THEN REOPENED, THEN WENT INTO A PANDEMIC. >> WITH THE PANDEMIC END, THERE WAS SOME HOPE SAN FRANCISCO WOULD REEMERGE TO THE NEW NORMAL BEEKEEPING HEARING ABOUT. >> DO YOU FORESEE THE DAY WHEN THESE OFFICES AND RESIDENCES, THESE NEW ONES HERE, ARE FILLED WITH WORKERS LIKE THEY WERE BEFORE? DO YOU EVER SEE THAT? IS THE WORLD'S GOING TO BE TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY? >> WE ARE IN FOR A PERIOD OF CHANGE AND IT IS NOT GOING TO BE SOLELY OFFICE FINANCIAL DISTRICTS AND RESIDENTIAL BEDROOM COMMUNITIES, BUT A HYBRID IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. THE DISTRICT, MORE THAN MOST OF DOWNTOWN, HAS BEEN THAT VISION FOR DECADES. WE HAVE 15,000 RESIDENTS HERE TODAY WHO ARE FREQUENTING OUR PARK AND RETAIL, KEEPING IT ALIVE EVEN WITH TRANSIT SERVICE LOWER THAN PROJECTED. DO I SEE THESE FILLED? I DO. I THINK IT WILL BE A MIX. WE WILL HAVE MORE DIVERSITY IN OUR TAX BASE AND IT WON'T JUST BE ONE OR TWO INDUSTRIES. WE WILL HAVE MORE RESIDENTIAL AND MORE RETAIL. LONG-TERM PROJECTION IN THE LONG-TERM VISION IS STILL THE THERE. PEOPLE WANT ACTIVATED, WALK ABELES, -- WHETHER IT BE DOWNTOWN OR ELSEWHERE. >> TWO YEARS IS WHAT TRANSIT EXPERTS SAY AND CITY LEADERS ARE TALKING ABOUT FOR THE DOWNTOWN FINANCIAL DISTRICT COME BACK. OTHERS SAY IT IS GOING TO TAKE A LOT LONGER, IF EVER. BUT THE KEY TO RECOVERY IS GOING TO BE NOT ONLY CHANGING THE LOOKS OF DOWNTOWN, BUT THE WORK THAT GOES ON. WILL IT HAPPEN? WE WILL SEE. IN THE MEANTIME, IT COST $30 MILLION A YEAR. LARRY: THE NUMBER THAT MADE US GASP WAS $6.9 BILLION. >> IN PUBLIC WORKS, PROJECT LIKE THIS TO MY DO YOU KNOW THE SAYING? IF YOU ARE IN TROUBLE, STOP DIGGING. PUBL
