Plan to turn reservoir into Russian Hill park is OKd

San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Commission approved design plans to transform the long-abandoned Francisco Reservoir on Russian Hill into a new park by a 6-1 vote Thursday.

It was a big step forward for the Francisco Park Conservancy, a nonprofit collective of neighborhood groups that for years has led the effort to turn the derelict site into public space in partnership with the city’s Recreation and Park Department. The conservancy is also raising the estimated $25 million to build the park.

To date, the group has raised about $8.5 million in “pledges” toward its fundraising goal. Of that, the conservancy has collected only about $4 million in cash.

Prior to the vote, several commissioners raised concerns about the conservancy’s fundraising efforts and whether it would be able to meet its goal of raising enough money to begin construction this summer.

“Clearly, that’s not going to happen,” said Commissioner Allan Low, who cast the sole vote against approving the park’s design plans.

Under the terms of the contract between the conservancy and the Recreation and Park Department, construction can’t begin until the conservancy hits its $25 million target.

“We will not drop a shovel until the project is fully funded,” said department General Manager Phil Ginsburg.

Ginsburg said the contract between the department and the conservancy could be adjusted if fundraising starts to lag, and that he didn’t think “the conservancy has given up hope of staying on schedule with respect to construction. I think the schedule is aspirational,” Ginsburg said. Commission President

Mark Buell added that people might be more inclined to donate if they see the city has signed off on the park’s plans.

Rich Peterson ,a spokesman for the conservancy, said in an email that, “With approvals now in hand, we confidently set out to raise the final dollars needed to transform this long deserted site into a spectacular new city park.”

Low also said that the plans for the park didn’t go far enough to encourage more “active” recreation activities, which appeared to contribute to his decision to vote against the design plans.

“We miss an opportunity where there’s a fouracre parcel and we don’t include an active recreation space,” Low said. “Whether it’s soccer, lacrosse, pickle ball — something else that has ... active recreation.” — Dominic Fracassa

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle The abandoned Francisco Reservoir on the north slope of Russian Hill will be the home of the new Francisco Park. Plans for the park were OKd Thursday.