Embarcadero Park Redesign Advances as Monument's Future Stays Unresolved

The San Francisco Arts Commission's Nov. 2, 2026, meeting showed how the Embarcadero waterfront's next public space is moving faster than the debate over what it will remember. A committee has already approved the park's early design, and the full commission passed its consent calendar by majority voice vote. Speakers had asked the commission to hold off until the Abraham Lincoln Brigade monument has a permanent home.

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• Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park renovation clears combined conceptual and Phase I committee review
• Consent calendar passes by majority voice vote, with audible nays, over monument and grant objections
• SOMArts asks commissioners to restore its full grant and plan an exit from a seismically hazardous building
• Mission Cultural Center supporters urge the commission to skip an RFP for its operating grant
• Strategic plan adds a survey, open house and retreat and keeps its April target

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Park Plan Moves Ahead, Monument Left Waiting

The basics: Civic Design Review is the commission's committee that vets the design of city-funded structures. It reviews projects in stages, starting with concept and moving to Phase I and beyond.

Why it matters: The roughly 5-acre renovation, led by Rec and Park and the design firm HOK, will reshape one of the city's most visible waterfront sites. Under the current design, the pickleball courts would come out and a multipurpose lawn would go in.

Where things stand: The committee reviewed the project Oct. 19. "The Committee unanimously approved the combined conceptual and Phase I review of the park renovation," said Civic Design Review Committee Chair Patrick Horne. The committee also asked for an informal meeting on the monument's future location. Commissioners discussed relocating the Korean monument. The Valencourt Fountain, once a fixture of the plaza, is in storage, and an assessment is planned.

The pavilion question: Commissioners treated the park's proposed pavilion as the Valencourt Fountain's successor and said they want a design that lasts at least 50 years. "It is the opportunity to bring in some kind of world-class artist," said Vice President Janine Sciotta.

Commissioner Carney asked how the structure represents the city, how it will age and whether its scale is right. "I just want us to get it right and that we're all happy with it," Carney said.

Commissioner Beltran asked whether the project has an art budget. Staff said there is no art set-aside, but the department is pressing for art involvement.

Commissioner Randy Fischer pointed to the Presidio's Tunnel Tops park as a model. "I think that the success of that is a lot of the time that they took to involve the community," Fischer said.

The other side: Speakers tied to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade monument argued the design is advancing without them. Megan Biermann, a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives Organization, also questioned the scale of the performance lawn and called for more input from neighbors, including residents of the Golden Gate Apartments. "We've got to find a way to change this design so it includes the monument still," Biermann said.

Public commenter John Grunfest said "the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Monument is very important" to anti-fascist memory. He also questioned government spending priorities.

When the consent calendar came up, Biermann made a narrower request. She asked "if a final site cannot be identified now, today, that we set a deadline for presenting alternatives and require a public progress report before the next design approval." Public commenter Mark Norton objected to rushing the project without a monument plan. "You need more than a deadline," Norton said.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Commissioner Brunzel moved to approve the consent calendar. The calendar's contents were not read aloud, but speakers referenced an Embarcadero conceptual-design item.

• Vote: Passed by voice vote "by a majority."
• Tally: None recorded. At least two nays were audible, but the voters were not identified.

Rec and Park and its designers gain momentum. Monument advocates leave without a deadline or a promised progress report. Pickleball players and nearby residents face a changed park footprint.

What's next: The pavilion returns to Civic Design Review at Phase I in mid-December, and commissioners were invited to attend.

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SOMArts Makes Its Case for Money and a Move

Why it matters: SOMArts operates from 934 Brannan, a city-owned building with a seismic hazard rating of 4. A feasibility study estimated code compliance at $71.6M, compared with $14M to $27M for other properties. SOMArts calls relocation inevitable.

Where things stand: SOMArts Executive Director Maria Jensen and staff walked through the center's operations:

• Event rentals: Discounted rentals for 33 nonprofits drew more than 12,000 guests and raised $374,000 for those groups.
• Finances: A $45,000 reserve campaign is underway, and the annual audit is expected to show no findings.
• Facilities: An ADA elevator project is in the works.

Staff said reduced grants are straining employees. "We're asking you, as Commissioners, to advocate for full grant funding for cultural centers," said Dre Davis, SOMArts Director of Finance and Operations. Jensen pointed to the hotel tax, which funds arts grants in San Francisco, and said "the hotel tax has clearly rebounded." She expressed hope for grant increases.

Commissioner reaction: Commissioners praised the center. "Your discussion about the eventual need to rebuild or move is something that concerns me," said Commissioner Deborah Walker, who asked to be part of relocation talks.

Sciotta floated a planning effort involving CAST, along with artist or affordable housing on the site. "We could have arts community that has a permanent home that's renovated," she said.

Jensen asked for a broader capital projects discussion across all cultural centers. Biermann also spoke during this item, noting her father Arthur Biermann's role in creating the neighborhood arts program and the cultural centers.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The presentation was informational, and the commission took no funding action. The housing and public-private ideas remain just ideas for now. Still, they signal that commissioners see the Brannan site as a potential asset, not only a liability.

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Mission Cultural Center Backers Push Back on RFP

Why it matters: The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (MCCLA) will close in January for about 18 months of seismic work. Supporters say putting its operating grant out to a request for proposals (RFP), a competitive bidding process, would derail a community restructuring involving more than 300 people.

Where things stand: Susana Rojas, speaking for the MCCLA transition team, said an RFP would stop restructuring work and prevent the center from securing a temporary lease. She thanked the commission for additional funds to find a temporary home for the center's archives.

Eva Martinez, the MCCLA archivist, said the community is meeting commission directives, including moving the archive in December. "I don't understand why the need for a competitive RFP at all," Martinez said.

Public commenter Laura Yano described the center's importance to the community. "We don't only need to look forward towards building new things," she said, urging investment in existing cultural centers.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The commission made no recorded decision on the RFP question. The consent calendar, which speakers linked to an MCCLA operational grant, passed by majority voice vote.

Separately, the Community Investment Committee reported grant amendments that add funds for MCCLA. Sciotta said the amended grants allow closed centers to rent other space.

What's next: The archive move is slated for December, and the closure begins in January.

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Strategic Plan Adds Touchpoints, Keeps April Deadline

Lauren Frankel of AMS Planning and Research, the agency's strategic planning consultant, outlined three additions to the timeline:

• Commissioner survey: Opens Dec. 7.
• Community open house: Set for the end of January, alongside the survey.
• Commissioner retreat: Tentatively planned for March 1.

"We've managed to add 3 additional touchpoints into the schedule without pushing back the completion date," Frankel said. Sciotta and Commissioner Quint will represent the Arts Commission in workshops.

Jensen asked for a separate process to consult cultural center leaders, noting "leadership has changed since you recorded that information." She also asked how community survey results will be shared.

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Minor Items

• Record grant round: Executive Director of Arts and Culture Matthew Godot reported 471 joint grants totaling more than $25M, including nearly $1M in supplemental funding.
• Closures and fountain: MCCLA and the African American Art and Culture Complex close in January for about 18 months, and Friends of the Plaza dismissed its Valencourt Fountain lawsuit.
• Airport art: The Visual Arts Committee reviewed Theresa Baker's art wall for SFO's first wheelchair lounge, in Terminal 3 West, with installation projected for September 2027.
• Grant agreements: 91% of 116 Community Investment grant agreements were executed as of Oct. 26, and the Queer Cultural Center's fiscal sponsor changed to the African American Art and Culture Complex.
• Public comment: Jeffrey Greer of San Francisco Recovery Theater said, "We're still searching for that missing $500,000" for the Black Theater Collective. Richard Rothman warned that civic-art murals at the San Francisco Zoo's Mothers Building are at risk.

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Looking Ahead

The Embarcadero pavilion returns to Civic Design Review in mid-December. The strategic plan survey opens Dec. 7, ahead of an April completion target.