Twelve years after the last shotgun blast at the Pacific Rod and Gun Club, the toxic lead waste has been removed from the west shore of Lake Merced and the roughly 10-acre parcel is ready to be transformed into a San Francisco park — if a private entity can be found to build and operate it.
At a community meeting Wednesday night in the Lake Merced Boathouse, the Recreation and Park Department introduced a request for proposals in hopes of finding a partner to build Lake Merced West as a privately operated public park. Possible amenities include a new boathouse, restaurant, dock or other approved features that might make the project financially feasible.
“We have a blank space, an open-ended ‘what might happen’ here,” said Neal Patel, property manager for Rec and Park. “Part of this exercise is to put it out there and see if there is interest.”…