BART board approves new police HQ, new fare gates
The BART Board of Directors voted to approve two multi-million-dollar contracts Thursday -- one to build a new police headquarters in downtown Oakland and one to install new fare gates designed to keep people from hopping on trains without paying.
The largest contract the board voted to approve is an initial $8.5 million deal with Bay Area-based Swinerton/Gensler/SKA for the early design phase of the headquarters project.
Swinerton/Gensler/SKA was one of five design and construction teams that bid on the project.
The directors also approved a total sticker price of $83.4 million for the project, which will convert a now-vacant Kaiser Permanente building at 2000 Broadway into a new, 87,000-square-foot Police Department headquarters, with roughly 17,000 square feet of underground parking.
BART bought the building for $26 million and just closed escrow on Wednesday.
The BART Police Department is expected to move into its new space by the end of 2026.
"I think it's an investment in an asset that this agency can hold for many decades, and I believe that it will increase in value," said director Mark Foley.
The board also voted to approve a roughly $7.4 million contract with Cupertino Electric Inc. of San Jose to install fare gates designed to keep people from jumping over, ducking under or going around in order to get free BART rides.
Work was scheduled to start this week on updated BART gates at the Fruitvale station in Oakland, with the 24th Street Mission station in San Francisco and Richmond station scheduled to begin work on new gates in September, BART said.
The roughly $90 million project is expected to be complete by the end of 2025.