San Francisco’s $2.2 billion ‘Grand Central’ terminal ready

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco is welcoming a new $2.2 billion transit terminal to the city after eight years of construction.

The San Francisco Transbay Terminal opened this month and is expected to accommodate as many as 45 million people annually.

The transit hub spans three city blocks and includes a bus deck, a towering sky-lit central entrance hall and a rooftop park with an outdoor amphitheater.

The San Francisco Chronicle reportedthat the terminal’s cost rose from $1.6 billion at its 2010 groundbreaking to more than $2 billion in 2016, because of what one analyst called “optimistic assumptions.”

Salesforce bought naming rights to the center in 2017 as part of a 25-year, $110 million sponsorship agreement. The online business software company opened its adjacent 61-story Salesforce Tower three months ago.