Politics & Government

San Bruno Jail Set to Be Demolished

The San Francisco County sheriff said the jail, which has been standing since the 1930s, poses an earthquake risk.

The old is finally set to come down.

San Francisco County Sheriff Michael Hennessey paid a special visit to the City Council at its Tuesday meeting to tell them about the county’s plans to demolish the 1930s-era jail, which is owned and maintained by San Francisco and has sat vacant since 2006 when a new state-of-the-art jail was built next to it off of Moreland Drive.

While the old jail hasn’t been used in a while, Hennessey said the historic building, which has been standing since 1934, has to come down because it poses an earthquake risk.

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The demolition of the jail will take place in two phases, Hennessey told the council. The work will consist of hazardous materials abatement because the building contains asbestos, the demolition of the historic jailhouse building, site grading, hydro-seeding, electrical work and all other related work.

A new front entrance and public restroom are also expected to be installed—changes that resident Alan Lubke applauded.

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Lubke said he once picked up a woman from BART who needed a ride to visit someone at the jail. But without a proper waiting area outside of the jail, he had to leave and the woman was hopelessly stranded there.

The entire demolition project is expected to be complete by December 2012, Hennessey said.


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