Both Sides of Sir Francis Drake in Ross Are Being Rebuilt This Fall

The Marin Art and Garden Center sits at 30 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. Ross Town Hall sits at 31. This October, both are in the middle of a rebuild. The garden's project is funded and has fencing up. The civic center's is still being drawn. Each institution has chosen to rebuild around the people already using it. The garden stays open with parts of it off limits, and the paramedics stay in a firehouse the Town closed more than a year ago.

That decision shapes how the fall works in central Ross. The workshops, the First Thursday talks and the council hearings all happen next to construction fencing or a pending floor plan. The details below show what is open, what is scheduled, and where each project stands as of October 4, 2026.

The garden side has a start date and a finish line

MAGC put fencing around its construction site on August 11, 2026. The center expects the work to be done by spring 2027. The garden is open throughout. On-site signs mark the areas that are closed, and access and parking have changed while crews work.

The project is called Sowing the Seeds and is the first phase of the center's master plan for its historic 11-acre site. It expands the celebration courtyard between the Livermore and Northgate buildings, adds Valley Oak plantings, improves walking paths and accessibility, and installs new wayfinding signs. MAGC's milestones page says the renovated Livermore and Northgate buildings and the new Celebration Plaza should open in spring 2027.

The money is in place for the core work. MAGC says it has raised enough for the essential scope, and any additional gifts would pay for upgrades. That is why the garden side has a fixed finish date. The scope is settled, and the only open question is how many extras get added.

The grounds stay free to visit from sunrise to sunset every day.

The calendar kept going through the construction

Fencing did not thin out the fall schedule. Most of the listed programs are hands-on sessions in small groups, which fit a site where some outdoor areas are temporarily closed.

The prices are what Eventbrite showed in early October. They include ticketing fees and may change.

Two of these work as a pair. Jill Sowards' October 16 session covers putting beds to rest for the winter with pollinators in mind, and her October 23 workshop covers planting bulbs for spring. Together they fit the garden's own timeline, which also aims for spring. The Fall Back Botanical Print Workshop on October 30, led by photographer and printmaker Ben Davidson and artist Laurie Reemsnyder, prints with plant material gathered from the garden grounds. At $33.77, it costs the least of the ticketed workshops on the calendar.

MAGC is also promoting a Pink Halloween Tea, an afternoon tea for all ages with Halloween activities and vendors. The promotional image points to October 25. The ticket page says "multiple dates," so confirm your session before you go.

The November 5 talk on San Quentin's archives is the last First Thursday program of the year. The Moya Library/Ross Historical Society runs the series on first Thursdays from March through November, skipping July and August. The next one after this is in March.

Across the street, the plan keeps getting redrawn

The Town Hall side began with a closure. Ross shut Fire Station 18 on July 1, 2025. The Town had concluded that rebuilding it would cost too much. Here is how the plan has changed since:

1. Last winter into April 2026. Then-Town Treasurer Jeff Kuhn, acting unofficially, brought together an advisory group of people for and against reopening the firehouse. The group proposed a broader redesign of the whole civic center that would keep its Spanish architecture. The council endorsed that concept in April.
2. August 4. Friends of Ross Firehouse withdrew its November 3 ballot measure, which asked voters whether they wanted "an operational fire station," after the Town committed to a rebuilt civic center with room for a fire station. At the same meeting the council hired Gensler, an architecture firm led by Ross resident Dan Winey, for $287,000.
3. August 26. The council told staff not to pursue a civic center plan that leaves out a fire station, and to study San Anselmo's Station 20 and Fairfax's Station 21 as comparisons.
4. September 23. The council appointed Kuhn to fill the rest of Bill Kircher's term.

Stephanie DiMarco, vice president of Friends of Ross Firehouse, explained the withdrawal this way:

"With the citizens advisory committee plan and Gensler as the architect, we really feel that the town is on the right path and it's a great outcome for the citizens."

What "12 weeks" has turned into

In August, Mayor Julie McMillan said she was "really optimistic that we will get this done in 12 weeks." She hoped for financing numbers in time for a possible general obligation bond measure in March 2027, and for delivery of the paramedic facility by January 2029. At the time, Town Manager Christa Johnson said 12 weeks would be hard to hit.

The scope has grown since then. The council set a $325,000 budget on August 4. A first amendment of $17,400 followed on August 13. The agenda for October 8 proposes a second amendment of $69,900 for fire station programming, comparison work and test fits, which would bring the total to $412,300. The staff report adds Tiburon Fire Station No. 10 to the comparisons. It says the purpose is a reasonableness check, and that Gensler is not meant to copy any of the three stations.

Gensler's work authorization projects that the added work will be finished by December 15, 2026. After that, Gensler would go back to the massing, engineering and cost work that comes before the council reviews draft and final plans. In August the Independent Journal reported that the overall project could require borrowing more than $20 million on top of the Town's reserves. Firm figures depend on the cost estimates that have not been done yet.

The paramedics have stayed put through all of this. The Ross Valley Paramedic Authority is a holdover tenant at the Station 18 premises under a lease that took effect December 4, 2025. The lease allows ambulance storage and emergency medical operations there until the replacement facility is substantially complete, which it estimates for January 1, 2029. Separately, in September Ross approved a revised fire-district cost allocation that lowers its share from 23.37% to 20.61%, effective July 16.

The dates still on the Town Hall calendar

• Thursday, October 8, 6 p.m. Regular council meeting at Town Hall, 31 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., including a public hearing on the Gensler amendment. The same agenda asks whether to start recruiting for the vacant appointed Town Treasurer position.
• Tuesday, October 13, 6 p.m. Special council meeting. No agenda was posted as of this writing.
• November 12 and December 10, 6 p.m. Regular council meetings. No civic center items are listed on the calendar yet.

The December 10 meeting is five days before Gensler's projected completion date. A recommended fire station program would most likely reach the council in the new year. The Town has not announced the date when it will.

Ross's own seasonal events have no dates yet either. The Town lists the Turkey Trot and Movie Night as "Date TBD" and the Haunted House as "Dates TBD." MAGC lists Winter Wonderland among its recurring events and describes its Holiday Greens Sale as a long-running favorite. Neither has posted a 2026 date, and this year's holiday events will be planned around the active construction site in the garden's courtyard.

If you own a home near the civic center or the garden, both projects will play out over the next few seasons. Eric Schmitt follows the Town Hall hearings and the MAGC timeline closely, and can tell you discreetly how they might affect your own timing. Through Eric Schmitt, you can request a confidential home valuation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.