Both Ends of Upper Market Are Headed for Construction in 2027

At night, the glass elevator tower at Castro and Market glows. The structure has been finished since last fall, and its lights stay on after dark. The Bay Area Reporter described it as "a glowing lantern." Riders still can't use it. SFMTA's weekly advisory for October 15 through 21 says construction is "wrapping up" and tells riders to keep using the north-side escalator to get into Castro Station until the elevator is done.

The elevator is the first phase of a bigger change along this stretch. A short walk east at Church and Market, a corner that has been running on pandemic-era temporary fixes since 2020 now has an approved, fully funded permanent design. Construction there is expected in early 2027. Harvey Milk Plaza's redesign is also forecast to break ground in 2027. That means both Muni corners at the ends of Upper Market are scheduled to be work sites over roughly the same months. Meanwhile the one finished piece is still waiting on a state inspector.

The Tower Is Built. The Inspection Isn't Done.

The holdup is glass. Cracked panels had to be replaced by a factory in Turkey, and SFMTA spokesperson Lolita Sweet told the Castro Merchants Association in August that the replacements took nearly 18 months to arrive. In the Bay Area Reporter's account of that meeting, she said the glass was in and the tower was finished. She also said crews had completed the landscaping and concrete work around it and had reworked the bottom level so it is accessible for riders with mobility issues.

The last step is certification. State inspectors have to confirm the four-stop lift is safe for public use. In August, SFMTA hoped to hear back by September and open by the end of that month or early October. The same article wondered whether the elevator would open in time for the Castro Street Fair on the first Sunday of October. The fair came and went. The mid-October advisory still describes the work as unfinished, and SFMTA's project page lists "Fall 2026" as the projected completion. The city has promised a public ribbon-cutting once the elevator passes inspection, so the opening shouldn't be hard to miss.

The elevator was first proposed in 2016. Its start was pushed back while the city made room for community discussion of a larger redesign of the plaza, and debate over adding a fourth stop at street level stretched the timeline further. That redesign is the next project in line.

Church and Market Is Finally Getting a Permanent Version

The Church and Market corner has run on temporary arrangements for six years. In August 2020, SFMTA closed Church Street between Market and 15th to through traffic as part of a J Church transfer plan meant to make connections to the subway easier and more accessible. A temporary wooden accessible platform went in late that year. Businesses and residents complained about detours and about rideshare pickups getting confused, and the agency reopened northbound through traffic in the curb lane in mid-July 2021. After outreach and a public survey, SFMTA made the south-side J Church stop permanent in December 2021.

The stop became permanent, but the fixtures around it stayed temporary. The design SFMTA published on July 16, 2026 replaces them with a finished plaza. It was developed with SF Public Works and the merchants next door.

Here is what the plan adds on the south side of Market:

• Trees and raised planters for shade and greenery
• Benches and leaning rails for café customers and riders waiting on the next train
• Permanent standing-height and seated tables outside Thorough Bread & Pastry, Aquitaine Wine Bar & Bistro and Verve Coffee Roasters
• A wayfinding pillar marking the entrance to the Church and Market corridor
• A permanent, wheelchair-accessible boarding island for the J Church and the 22 Fillmore

Beyond the plaza itself, the team has finished designs for a pedestrian bulb in front of the Churchill bar at 198 Church and an accessible platform on the inbound J Church island south of Duboce Avenue. Tables and benches will get anti-graffiti coatings, and the planters are designed so plants and soil are hard to pull out. Parking and traffic on Church south of Market stay as they are.

On July 20, the Arts Commission's Civic Design Review Committee approved the project unanimously. According to the draft minutes, commissioners discussed bike safety around a new bike lane, materials and room for future public art, and asked the team to keep refining the gateway sign so it fits the neighborhood better. No one spoke during public comment. The minutes describe the project as fully funded, with construction expected to begin in early 2027. Before then, SFMTA still has to finalize the design and go through contracting.

Harvey Milk Plaza Comes Next, on a Date No One Agrees On

At the Castro end, the plaza redesign is larger and less settled. Most of it is being sized to fit the $25 million allocated by a bond voters approved in November 2024, according to the Bay Area Reporter. The wide, sloping stairway that runs down across most of the plaza today would be replaced by a smaller stair under a rose-colored, transparent canopy. A spiral podium near the corner of Castro and Market would recall the site's long history as a place for rallies and protests.

Public Works' project page lists the named elements as the Pedestal, a digital Beacon, a Grove of 11 trees, a Central Terrace, the bullhorn-inspired Muni canopy and an underground Gallery. The design team includes SWA Landscape Architects and PTA/Marjang JV Architect. The Gallery would sit next to the lower-level station entrance, where the fare gates are now. It is the one piece that still needs funding. Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza estimates it at $3 million and is raising private money for it.

The three main sources give three different schedules:

The budget numbers also differ. Public Works lists a $22 million project budget. In June 2025, Hoodline reported an estimate of $25 million plus $4 million to $6 million for additional features. All of these dates are forecasts. Public Works' page lays out the design and schedule but doesn't yet say which parts of the plaza or which station entrances will stay open during construction.

How the Next Two Years Line Up

Taken together, the published schedules put the corridor's work in this order:

1. Now through the ribbon-cutting. The Castro Station elevator waits on state certification. Until then, riders use the north-side escalator.
2. Early 2027. Construction is expected to start at Church and Market, covering the boarding island, plaza, Churchill bulb and inbound platform at Duboce.
3. January to spring 2027. Harvey Milk Plaza is forecast to break ground, depending on whose schedule you go by.
4. Mid- to late 2028. The plaza redesign is projected to finish. The Gallery depends on fundraising.

Riders who catch the J at Church and get off at Castro would pass through both work zones in a single trip. Two blocks east, near 13th Street and Duboce Avenue, a separate safety project is also under construction through 2027. It is adding protected bike lanes, sidewalk extensions and signal upgrades between Folsom and Valencia.

One More November Before the Fences Go Up

If the Hoodline or Public Works schedule holds, this November will be the last before construction at Harvey Milk Plaza. In 2025, the Bay Area Reporter announced that the 47th annual Harvey Milk and George Moscone candlelight vigil would take place on November 27 from 7 to 8 p.m. It was hosted by the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, opened with remarks at Harvey Milk Plaza and then moved to 575 Castro Street, Milk's former camera shop and campaign headquarters. This year November 27 falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the Milk Club's calendar is the place to watch for 2026 details.

The 2025 and 2026 Harvey Milk Day events in May were held at Jane Warner Plaza, which is a separate space at Castro and Market. And the Castro Street Fair, which closes Market from Noe to Castro, uses its proceeds to help maintain the rainbow flag that flies over Harvey Milk Plaza.

If you own a home within a few blocks of Church Street or Castro Station and want to know how two overlapping years of construction, and the finished plazas after them, could affect the timing of a sale, Sage Real Estate can walk through it with you. Discover what your home is worth, and plan around the 2027 calendar rather than finding out about it mid-listing.