Given this back story, the park has received its share of brickbats. The homegrown tech firm helps pay for things like security and, in return, the facility is now officially called Salesforce Transit Center (sigh), with Salesforce Park on top (double sigh). To help cover operating costs, the authority cut a $110 million, 25-year sponsorship deal with Salesforce. The second phase, with its rail service, was in limbo. The $1.6 billion price tag had climbed to $2.259 billion. I’ll leave out all the drama along the way, but the center finally opened in 2018 - and then closed for 10 months because two cracked structural girders were spotted by a worker. By the time design work began in 2007, high-speed rail from Los Angeles had been added to the desired mix.

The idea dates to 2001, when the Transbay Joint Powers Authority was formed to replace the aged existing terminal with a new facility that would welcome East Bay commuter buses while also having underground platforms where passenger trains from the peninsula could pull in. For those of you who haven’t stopped by the transit center - with its web-like, white metal skin that extends from Beale Street almost three blocks to the west, with alleys on either side - here’s a thumbnail history.

Salesforce terminal park