Approved: The Metreon's New "Restaurant-Centric" Plan

SoMa: Yesterday, the trainwreck that is the Metreon got a little closer to its anticipated—and needed—overhaul when the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency unanimously green-lit the plans put forth by new owners Westfield Group and Forest City Enterprises. The Westfield design, which will open up the center to the streets, is being billed as "restaurant-centric," and even though we haven't heard much about it since it was first announced last year, the Tavern on the Green behemoth is still very much in the plan:

Under the approved plans, shops and restaurants will line the outer perimeter of the ground floor; popular New York restaurant Tavern on the Green will occupy the top floor; a food terrace will face Yerba Buena Gardens; and lights will colorfully illuminate the Fourth Street facade.

The cinema will remain unchanged, and the foodie facelift won't be complete until the end of 2010, at the earliest. And for those interested—i.e., the mechanical bull aficionados in the crowd—there is still no word on the fate of Jillian's.
· Revamped Metreon slated to be restaurant-centric [SFE]
· Tavern on the Cineplex: Metreon's Current State of Affairs [~ESF~]
· Tavern on the Green Coming to Town, Opening SF's Biggest Restaurant [~ESF~]