Zusha Elinson/The Bay Citizen

BART board member James Fang has been pushing for his friend to get the rights to develop the area around the Millbrae station, foreground. Fang’s mother owns an office building right around the corner (indicated by red arrow).

A two-year effort by BART to transform a key transit hub has stalled as rival board members champion their favored developers.

James Fang, a member of the Bay Area Rapid Transit board, has been pushing BART staff and other board members to give the exclusive rights to develop land around the Millbrae BART station to a friend and political supporter, Lawrence Lui. Lui, who runs San Francisco’s Justin Development, is vying with two others for the Millbrae deal.

TMG, a Bay Area developer, is also in the running, but doesn’t appear to have a cheerleader on the BART board.

A third bidder, Republic Urban of Washington D.C., has won the support of another board member, Joel Keller. Talks have been conducted in closed sessions, and the value of the development rights and of the proposed projects has not been disclosed.

At a recent closed session of the nine-member BART board, a showdown ensued between Keller and Fang. According to the two members, Keller argued for Republic Urban’s proposal to build an office complex; Fang stood up for Lui’s plans for a hotel. It ended with the board no closer to a decision.

In an interview, Fang, the son of Florence Fang, the matriarch of the influential Fang family, acknowledged that Lui was a friend. But he said that Republic Urban’s “onslaught” of lobbying had tilted the field. “It is so unfair that Republic is putting all this pressure on the BART board,” Fang said. “The only people that have lobbied on Lawrence’s behalf are me.”

Keller said in an interview that he preferred Republic Urban because the office complex project would attract more riders. “Did the lobbying influence my decision making?” he said. “I think I would’ve made the same decision from the information presented by the staff.”

The bidding to develop unused parking lots at the station began about two years ago. But talks stalled, to the chagrin of other BART officials.

Thor Swift/The Bay Citizen

James Fang at a BART meeting last year

“It’s a very politically charged environment with these two development teams,” said Tom Radulovich, a BART board member. “They have strong partisans on our board and they’ve terrified the staff, so they’re just throwing information in front of us, hoping we’ll make a decision.”

BART has less stringent rules about political contributions than some local cities. Companies seeking contracts with BART are not barred from making campaign donations, although contributions can’t exceed $1,000.

Lui donated $1,000 to Fang’s campaign in September and helped pay for a $10,000 trip to China for local officials organized by Fang last summer. On the other side, Michael Bernick, a former BART board member who has been lobbying for Republic Urban, donated $450 to Keller’s campaign.

Both camps say they may negotiate a joint development deal. But whatever happens, Fang may get some benefit. His mother owns an office building in view of the station. Fang said that the property did not influence his decision and that the new development would not raise its value.

This article also appears in the Bay Area edition of The New York Times.