SF, Giants back Mission Rock affordable housing

An old parking lot owned by the San Francisco Giants will turn into a new vibrant community in Mission Bay after Mayor Mark Farrell signed legislation on Tuesday with city officials and Giants President and CEO Larry Baer by the mayor’s side.

The Mission Rock Redevelopment Project will convert a parking lot near Pier 48 into 21 acres of housing and commercial space with 8 acres of open space along the waterfront and access to Pier 48.

As part of the project, a record  40 percent of the 1,500 rental housing units will be available for low- and middle-income residents, said Supervisor Jane Kim, who represents the Mission Bay neighborhood.

The project will offer a mix of shops, cafes and office space near AT&T Park.

Additionally, Pier 48 will undergo rehabilitation during the project’s construction, according to the Port of San Francisco.

The project has been more than 10 years in the making with a number of city agencies and community organizations collaborating with the Giants on the project.

Farrell said:

“This is really emblematic of the best of a collective planning process that we have here in the city of San Francisco.”

The project took 10 years to get to where it is today, and Baer said it was important that projects such as in Mission Bay are worth taking time to carefully complete.

Baer said he believe the new development will be gathering place for Mission Bay residents:

“What we’re really most proud of is the creation of taking a surface parking lot, what we used to characterize as a wind-swept surface parking lot and creating a new dynamic neighborhood from that parking lot, which we believe will serve as a central gathering place for the Mission Bay community.”

The Board of Supervisors gave its approval of the project at their Feb. 13 meeting.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.