"For 10 years I have been working on it, now we are almost done." That is what SFMTA public information officer Lolita Sweet told the Castro Merchants Association at its August 6 meeting, according to the Bay Area Reporter. She was talking about the glass elevator tower next to Castro Muni Station. Two months later the elevator still isn't open. SFMTA's transit advisory for October 8 to 14, 2026 says construction is "wrapping up" and tells riders to keep using the escalator on the north side for accessible entry until it's finished.
The elevator is the first phase of the Harvey Milk Plaza rebuild, and the plaza plans treat it as permanent. They also keep the rainbow flagpole. The wide stairway, the terraces, the paving and the planting around those two fixtures are all slated to be replaced, with construction starting in 2027.
Phase one took a decade and a factory in Turkey
SFMTA's project page gives the elevator a long timeline: civil and engineering design from 2016 to 2018, final design and approvals from 2019 to 2022, construction starting in spring 2023, and completion projected for fall 2026. Part of the delay was a scope change. The original plan had stops at the plaza and the platform. The final design added a fourth stop at the Market Street sidewalk, so riders getting off the 35 and 37 can enter the elevator straight from the curb, ride down to the concourse and go through the fare gates. The agency says the change affected the architectural and structural systems and meant redoing several city approvals.
The rest of the delay was glass. Last December, SFMTA and San Francisco Public Works told the Bay Area Reporter they expected to finish by the end of January and open by the end of March. Then some glass panels arrived cracked and had to be remade at a factory in Turkey. Sweet said the replacements took nearly 18 months. In August, the tower was finished and was waiting on certification from state inspectors. SFMTA's Parisa Safarzadeh told the paper that a celebration date would be set once the elevator passed inspection.
The work around the tower is also done. According to SFMTA, the brick area by the station entrance was regraded, the walkway above the station and the Market Street sidewalk were widened, and the new sidewalk was poured in sparkling concrete. Plaza lighting was replaced, the terraces and concourse were replanted, and new fences and benches went in.
What the next phase keeps, and what it replaces
The Bay Area Reporter calls the elevator structure "the first phase in a planned reimagining" of the plaza. The Phase III design drawings shown to the San Francisco Arts Commission are dated May 18, 2026. They include the previously approved SFMTA elevator and label it on the plaza plan. The same drawings mark an "EXISTING FLAGPOLE" at the center of a new gathering space.
Most of what's around those two fixtures changes. San Francisco Public Works lists the scope:
- Regrade, repave and re-landscape the plaza
- Add a canopy over the Castro/Market Muni station entry
- Improve the station entry stairs
- Expand the station concourse to add a gallery with display fixtures and artwork
- Add sculptural landscape elements to the plaza's plantings and paving
The stairway will change the most. The Bay Area Reporter describes the current plan as a smaller stairway under a rose-colored, transparent overhang, replacing today's wider stair that undulates down across most of the space. Public Works says the canopy is shaped as "a subtle nod" to Harvey Milk's bullhorn. It's kept low and transparent so it doesn't block the historic Bank of America building. That building at 501 Castro St. is where the Castro Merchants Association holds its holiday tree lighting. This year it's on Monday, November 30, from 6 to 6:30 p.m.
The design arranges the plaza into named spaces, from the corner westward:
| Space | Where it sits | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| The Pedestal | East end, at Castro and Market | A focal point for large gatherings, a nod to the corner's history of rallies and collective action |
| Central Terrace | At the base of the existing rainbow flag | A secondary, quieter gathering place next to the new Beacon |
| The Beacon | Beside the Central Terrace | A digital monument for visuals about Milk, the Castro's history and the movement |
| The Grove | Western edge | 11 trees, one for each month Milk served as supervisor |
| The Gallery | Partly inside the station concourse | Flexible exhibit space for art and community stories |
The Bay Area Reporter describes the Pedestal as a spiral podium by the intersection. SWA Landscape Architects leads the design team. The architect is a joint venture of Paulett Taggart Architects and MarJang Architecture, with SOHA, GHD and ARUP handling structural, mechanical and civil engineering.
The calendar, and where the sources disagree
The elevator has no opening date yet. The plaza's schedule depends on which source you read.
| Milestone | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Plaza bond approved by voters | November 2024 | Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza |
| Elevator status | "Wrapping up," no opening date | SFMTA advisory, Oct. 8, 2026 |
| Art wall proposals on public display | Nov. 9–20, 2026 | SF Arts Commission RFQ |
| Plaza construction start | Spring 2027 | SF Public Works |
| Groundbreaking | Early 2027 | Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza |
| Completion | Winter 2028 | SF Public Works |
| Opening | Pride Month, June 2028 | Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza |
Both sources put the start in 2027. That's a year later than the city expected in June 2025, when it anticipated construction in 2026. For the finish, Public Works says "Winter, 2028" and Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza says Pride Month 2028. Those dates line up if Public Works means the start of 2028. If it means the end of the year, they don't.
The money is reported differently too. The city's June 2025 announcement listed $24.8 million in voter-approved bond financing, $1.5 million in state funds and about $1 million from San Francisco. Public Works names SFMTA as a partner agency and lists the project budget as $22 million. The Bay Area Reporter says city officials planned the work so the $25 million bond covers most of it. Some historical features depend on the Friends group raising more money.
The Gallery is the biggest of those. Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza says it's the only plaza feature still unfunded and is raising $3 million to build and maintain it. According to the Bay Area Reporter, the Gallery's final design and the community leaders it will feature haven't been decided. The Friends group's Storytelling and Curatorial Committee is shaping its themes through listening sessions, surveys and focus groups.
The Public Works project page lists the scope and the schedule. It doesn't describe how the station entrance, the route across the plaza, or the sidewalks at Castro and Market will work during construction.
The decision that's still open this fall
Residents can still weigh in on the art for one concourse wall. The San Francisco Arts Commission is commissioning an artwork for the Gallery East Art Wall, a surface about 8 by 18 feet on the station concourse. The artwork budget is $128,000, with $16,000 more set aside for installation. According to the Arts Commission's call for artists, finalists' proposals will be shown at Harvey Milk Plaza and Castro Muni Station and on the Arts Commission website for written public comment before the final panel review. The approval steps that follow are:
- Public display and written comment, November 9 to 20, 2026
- Review Panel Meeting 2, the week of November 30
- Visual Arts Committee approval, December 16
- Full Arts Commission approval, January 4, 2027
Arts Commission and Public Art Review Panel meetings are open to the public. Notice is posted at least 72 hours ahead. The December 16 Visual Arts Committee meeting starts at 2 p.m. in Room 416 at City Hall and can also be watched online. The call for artists doesn't say how to submit public comments. If the January 4 approval holds, the art wall will be chosen just before Public Works' spring 2027 construction window.
Questions about the plaza schedule go to Public Works. Its project page lists Christine Hunt as project manager. SFMTA keeps elevator updates at SFMTA.com/CastroElevator.
Two years of construction at Market and Castro will affect how people get to the station and walk the blocks around it. If you're thinking about what that means for a home nearby, from the view out your window to the timing of a sale or a lease, Deason Group is glad to walk through the schedule with you as the dates firm up. Contact us.
