Reminder: Alamo Square set to finally reopen Wednesday

It’s a long time coming, but San Francisco’s most photogenic block of open space will open to the public on Wednesday, almost precisely a year after closing.

Originally, Recreation and Park scheduled the upgrade of the most San Francisco-looking spot in all of San Francisco to take seven months, but a series of delays set it back, many of them due to all of that wet weather over the winter and early spring.

Estimates seem to vary on the price of the multi-million fix-up; in a February 2016 press release, Recreation and Park called it $5.2 million, but the agency’s blog reported $4.3 million later that same year.

[Update: Rec & Park spokesperson Joey Kahn confirms the final budget as $5.3 million, up from last year’s estimates because of delays.]

In any case, most of that varying number of millions went into making the park less of a water hog. The agency’s general manager told CBS SF that the new irrigation systems will consume 2.5 million less water annually. (Ironically, crews faced some rain delays while installing new drought-resistant lawns earlier this year.)

Hoodline also notes the addition of 45 new trees, freshly paved paths, a new, cylinder-shaped restroom (that looks a bit like it might be the secret entrance to an underground shelter), and also the somewhat whimsical inconvenience of the tennis court remaining closed for further upgrades and serving as a plant nursery in the meantime.

The city will host an opening ceremony on Wednesday morning, starting at eleven o’clock.

hayk shalunts

• Alamo Square Reopens [SF Rec]
• Alamo Square Update [SF Rec]
• Square Reopening [CBS]
• Inside Park’s Renovation [Hoodline]
• Alamo Square Delayed Again [Curbed SF]