Cost of proposed $1.7 million public restrooms by San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood drastically reduced thanks to donations

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Remember the controversy over that expensive $1.7 million toilet the city wanted to build in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood? Since then, the price has dropped considerably.

It wasn’t until Wednesday that residents were pissed off at the excessive cost of a single-toilet bathroom in the Noe Valley town square.

“Better use it. It’s ridiculous. $1.7 million for a stupid bathroom,” said one resident when interviewed in October 2022.

As the old saying goes, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”, and the city found a way to build it for much less, thanks to the generosity of two companies who decided to do donation of modular toilets with labor included. and some additional features.

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“The doorknob is treated so it’s antimicrobial,” said Chad Kaufman, owner of Public Restroom Company, which supplies the restrooms in San Francisco.

The sink is also on the outside, making the space inside small enough to deter anyone from sleeping inside.

“I just wanted to show why modular precast solutions are cost effective and simpler,” Kaufman added.

In other words, he told us, he wants publicity. The donation saves the city $425,000.

Public Restroom Company has similar projects all over California, but Kaufman isn’t licensed to “sell” this bathroom in San Francisco.

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The company is located in Nevada, one of 22 states banned by San Francisco for abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and voting rights. But while San Francisco can’t do business with these companies, they can get a freebie.

The people here are sincerely grateful for this donation.

“It’s really nice to have a bathroom here. We’re a group of older people who hang out here on Thursdays and have a little group chat. When you gotta go, you gotta go,” Josh said. Koral, a resident of Noe Valley. .

It will only take a week to install the prefabricated bathroom which should be in place by the end of the summer.

The Recreation and Parks Department still has to shell out $300,000 for other costs like landscaping design, permits and environmental reviews.

“Staff time, permit fees, architecture and engineering to make sure everything works and fits together,” explained Sarah Madland of the Recreation and Parks Department.

So really, the total price is $725,000, with San Francisco only paying part of that.

That leaves San Francisco with extra money from that initial $1.7 million state grant that Rec and Park say will now go to provide “relief” in the form of bathrooms to others. places, starting with Precita Park in Bernal Heights.

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