A $72 million behavioral health building is set to break ground on Treasure Island

San Francisco's Department of Public Health plans to break ground in November on a 120-unit behavioral health building on Treasure Island. The San Francisco Examiner reported the schedule, citing a department presentation to the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee earlier this month. Construction is set to finish in June 2028.

What will be inside

The Examiner describes a six-story building where most beds will be transitional recovery housing, also called step-down beds. They serve people moving from inpatient substance use treatment to more independent living with outpatient care. The project architects, Paulett Taggart Architects working with Gensler, call it a 70,000-square-foot building with step-down care, transitional housing, short- and long-term treatment, recovery residences and sober living.

The two sources give different bed counts. The Examiner says capacity is up to 300 beds, and the architects' project page lists 381. Both say 120 units, and both say the building will be finished in 2028. The architects say it is aiming for LEED Gold certification.

Who is paying and who will run it

The $72 million comes from the state's Community Care Expansion grant, the Treasure Island Development Authority and the 2020 Proposition A bond, the Examiner reported. Of that, $14.2 million from the state's Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program will pay for 44 substance use recovery beds. A health department spokesperson said the island was chosen because a Treasure Island Development Authority parcel was available, and because the state grant expires Sept. 30, 2028.

The partners are the health department, the development authority, Mercy Housing and HealthRight 360. HealthRight 360 already runs 156 step-down beds on the island in former military buildings, plus 64 elsewhere in the city. "It is going to mean that we have purpose-built space, and that is incredibly valuable and really matters," said Wesley Saver, its managing director of policy and public affairs. Clients can usually stay up to a year.