After SF gained national attention over a $1.7 million toilet in Noe Valley, SF passed a law in 2024 enabling city departments to utilize cooperative purchasing to reduce costs and red tape on small projects like playgrounds and public restrooms.<\/p>\n
The cooperative purchasing law<\/a>, introduced in 2024 by then-Mayor London Breed, lets city departments piggyback on contracts already negotiated by other public agencies for projects under $5 million, cutting both costs and procurement time. While it was prompted by the backlash over the infamous $1.7 million Noe Valley toilet<\/a>, the biggest savings so far have come from playground renovations, as the Chronicle reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n As SFist reported<\/a> in 2023, the planned 150-square-foot public toilet in Noe Valley sparked national ridicule over its $1.7 million price tag and three-year construction timeline. After Governor Gavin Newsom threatened to pull the funding<\/a>, a prefab restroom manufacturer stepped in to donate a restroom structure<\/a>, cutting the remaining cost to roughly $300,000.<\/p>\n According to the Chronicle, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department has reduced the cost of a typical playground overhaul from an average of $4 million down to about $1.4 million, while shortening timelines from three to five years to about 18 months. The department also says it has saved more than $1 million per playground by purchasing equipment directly from manufacturers. <\/p>\n The first playground project completed under the program was reportedly in Bernal Heights, with work also underway at Koshland Playground in Hayes Valley and Louis Sutter Playground in McLaren Park.<\/p>\n “This allows us to be so much more efficient with our time and our money,” Rec and Park deputy director of capital Kelli Rudnick told the Chronicle. “It really opens up a great opportunity to get our playgrounds restored and renewed.” <\/p>\n The department also rebuilt the Lincoln Park playground after a May 2025 arson fire<\/a> in about six months.<\/p>\n The streamlined purchasing process has also been used for new prefabricated restrooms at Precita Park, Stern Grove, and Franklin Square, as well as turf replacement projects, saving more than $250,000 across those smaller projects, according to the department<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSan Franciscans expect us to swiftly and effectively deliver public projects that enhance our city\u2019s livability, accessibility, and joy,\u201d said Breed when introducing the legislation two years ago.<\/p>\n Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who co-sponsored the cooperative purchasing law, told the Chronicle it’s part of a larger effort to simplify city contracting, adding that he’s backing Mayor Daniel Lurie’s proposal to further centralize purchasing authority through a November charter amendment. <\/p>\n Mandelman noted that while the cooperative purchasing law helps, it also raises questions about whether San Francisco should rethink the procurement rules that routinely slow public projects and drive up costs.<\/p>\n