Phil Matier: Questions Raised About Transit Agency's SF Real Estate Deal
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) - The chairman of the state Senate's Transportation and Housing Committee wants more information to be released about the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's recent purchase of a new building in San Francisco to house its headquarters.
The MTC approved the $93 million purchase of a building on Main St. between Harrison and Folsom streets in mid-October by a vote of 8-to-6. Two members were absent. Additionally, plans were unveiled to spend millions more to upgrade the building.
The building is intended to house MTC staff and its bridge operations unit, the Bay Area Toll Authority, as well as the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, and possibly the Association of Bay Area Governments.
Some locally elected leaders in the East Bay had opposed the commission's move from to San Francisco, hoping instead that the commission would build a new HQ in Oakland. And now, KCBS and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier reveals that state lawmakers want to take a closer look at how quickly this major real estate deal closed.
KCBS and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier Reports:
"They wound up closing the deal in 24 hours, something that just sort of rattled everybody and is raising even more questions," pointed out Matier.
"Uh, I don't think this is the end of this by any means," he continued. "Because not only did the buy the building, they want to put $75 million worth of improvements in it to bring it up to snuff."
"They're going to be using toll money to finance it so that is a sensitive subject," summed up Matier.
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