Meadow and the recreation area, aided by office intern Robert Royston. Metlife owned and carefully maintained the property until early 1970s, when it sold it to Leona Helmsley and the property began to deteriorate. There were a succession of owners and management companies beginning in the late 1990s. The commercial areas of the development were sold off to investors, and other parts sold to the California State University system for San Francisco State University. As of 2008, 116 of the original are owned and maintained by a single investor, who purchased the property for $687 million and has committed $110 million in upgrades. During the early 2000s (decade) the property was marketed as The Villas Parkmerced, however, as of 2009, signage and advertisements have returned to the original Parkmerced name. Transportation Bus service through Parkmerced primarily is provided by the San Francisco Municipal Railway 57 Parkmerced route. Additionally, the 18, 28, 28R and 29 bus routes, as well as the Muni Metro M Ocean View light-rail line, operate along nearby 19th Avenue. Ongoing construction and development plans Parkmerced is in the middle of reconstruction. Current projects include replacing old elevators, remodeling entrances to the towers, applying wooden window frames and miscellaneous detailing to the garden townhomes, modifying landscaping, providing new mailbox units, as well as painting the outsides of all the buildings through 2009. Parkmerced acquired their own Saturday morning Farmer's Market, which takes place on the western meadow of the neighborhood. Along with aesthetic changes being made to the public spaces in the neighborhood, vacant garden and tower apartments are also seeing heavy renovations. These include new stainless steel appliances, granite marble counter tops, laminate flooring, and wooden cabinets. An emphasis by the development team is on the sustainability. In 2010, the owners and managers of the various parts of Parkmerced proposed a major redevelopment, which would involve phased demolition of the deteriorating garden apartments in favor of higher density replacements, and reconfiguring some streets. In May 2011, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 6-5 to approve this redevelopment plan, including the replacement of virtually all of the low-rise garden apartment units with new mid-rise structures. In addition, the plan calls for preserving the rent-controlled status of tenants who are relocated, and involves construction of several hundred new units, some of which will be rentals, while others will be made available for sale. Plans also calls for retail,