San Francisco breaks ground on $73 million Portsmouth Square overhaul

Portsmouth Square, Chinatown’s longtime living room, has begun a $73 million overhaul that will shut the neighborhood’s central gathering place through mid-2028. For residents who meet there daily for chess, cards and conversation, the groundbreaking was both a celebration and the start of a long disruption.

San Francisco leaders gathered June 9 as construction was set to begin June 10, turning one of the city’s oldest public squares into a full reconstruction site. The redesign will replace aging infrastructure with an 8,500-square-foot community clubhouse with meeting rooms and a commercial catering kitchen, a flexible outdoor event plaza with an elevated stage, a shade structure, a consolidated playground, adult fitness equipment, new landscaping, lighting, seating and streetscape upgrades around the square.

The city says the project is meant to preserve Portsmouth Square’s role as a civic and cultural anchor while making it more usable for seniors, families and visitors. The park is described by city officials as San Francisco’s oldest public square and the site of California’s first public school, and it is eligible for listing in the California Register of Historic Resources. The renovation also includes replacement of the garage roof’s waterproofing and drainage system, a reminder that the project is as much about aging infrastructure as it is about public space.

One of the biggest changes is the removal of the Kearny Street pedestrian bridge, a 1960s structure long criticized as one of the city’s least-liked bridges. Taking it down is expected to reclaim about 20,000 square feet of pedestrian space and restore historic sight lines across the square. A 2017 survey found a majority of Chinatown residents wanted the bridge removed, making the demolition a rare case of a debated design choice landing squarely on the side of neighborhood demand.

The project also carries a sizable arts component. More than $2.26 million in Art Enrichment funding is going into Chinatown capital projects, including Portsmouth Square, and the plan calls for restoration of existing public art plus two new commissioned pieces, including a sculpture and an integrated wall work. City materials say the artworks are meant to honor the square’s historical significance and foster belonging, with support from the Office of the City Administrator, the San Francisco Arts Commission and California State Assemblymember Phil Ting’s office.

The contractor, Swinerton Builders, was selected after a public bidding process that began in October 2025; its bid came in just under $48 million. The project had already been reviewed multiple times by city design bodies between 2020 and 2022, underscoring how long the redesign has been in motion. Mayor Daniel Lurie said the square should be “as vibrant and dynamic as any public space in our city,” while District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter called it a long-overdue renovation shaped by years of community input.

For now, the challenge is where Chinatown’s regulars will go next. With Portsmouth Square fenced off, longtime seniors and other daily users are already looking for alternate places to gather, and the shutdown will also ripple to merchants around Kearny Street, Clay Street, Washington Street and Walter U Lum Place that have long depended on the square’s steady flow of foot traffic.