All the Features Coming to SF’s Brand New Waterfront Park
On September 14, together with community members who shaped the historic project from its conception, San Francisco officials broke ground at the future India Basin Waterfront Park.
The groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of construction of the future park’s structures, including a food pavilion and shop building; two new piers; a floating dock, gangway and historic marine rails. Community members who have undergone construction training through the project’s workforce development program will be among the professionals building the heart of the park at 900 Innes Avenue.
Workers will also restore the site’s Shipwright’s Cottage, a city landmark built in 1875 to serve the neighborhood’s union wooden boatbuilding business.
“This is a historic moment for San Francisco and the Bayview-Hunters Point community,” said Mayor London N. Breed. “India Basin Waterfront Park will transform a neglected shoreline into a modern, world class park that reflects and benefits the people who live here now, and for generations to come.”
The India Basin Shoreline Park project will combine 900 Innes Avenue with two existing parks that border it: India Basin Shoreline Park and India Basin Open Space, both of which will undergo significant improvements as part of the broader vision.
Once complete, the seamless 10-acre park will include gathering docks; an accessible walkway and stairs to connect once-isolated neighborhoods with the shoreline, gardens, and natural habitats; a public plaza for fitness classes, performances and farmers markets; a lighted pedestrian and bicycle path that will close a gap in the Bay Trail, eventually linking the Embarcadero to Candlestick Point; and an ecological education area where visitors can observe tidal mudflat habitats and native birds through small paths, decks, and viewing platforms.
“It is exciting to continue to provide more usable open spaces for the Bayview-Hunters Point community. Water access at India Basin is a major plus for residents in the area,” said Board President Shamann Walton, who represents District 10. “I can’t wait to see everyone enjoying this world-class park that is long overdue.”
The once-in-a-generation environmental justice project is a partnership between the Bayview-Hunters Point community, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the San Francisco Parks Alliance, and the Trust for Public Land. India Basin Shoreline Park is guided by an Equitable Development Plan (EDP), a first for San Francisco, with the goal of delivering a park designed by and for Bayview-Hunters Point.
“We are thrilled to bring the community-led vision of safe and healthy waterfront recreation to life,” said San Francisco Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg. “India Basin Waterfront Park is not only the most significant park investment in our city’s history, but the first in which neighborhood residents are actively guiding the changes in their communities through an Equitable Development Plan.”
“This project is rooted in equity and uplifting the community,” said APRI SF Executive Director Jacqueline Flin. “Breaking ground is the next step in delivering economic and environmental justice through jobs, training, and opportunities for small businesses in the community.”
“With the environmental cleanup complete, we are now ready to begin constructing the community’s hopes, dreams and wishes into an amazing new waterfront park in San Francisco’s Bayview community,” said Guillermo Rodriguez, California State Director and Vice President-Pacific Region for Trust for Public Land. “We at Trust for Public Land believe that the development of India Basin Shoreline Park that starts with giving residents a voice in not only the design of this park but also delivers on workforce development and economic opportunities for the community and future generations is the blueprint for how all parks should be built going forward.”
“The future India Basin Waterfront Park is a powerful example of how a community can gather to improve public space. We are excited to transform this land into the vision that the residents of Bayview-Hunters Point imagined,” said Drew Becher, CEO of the SF Parks Alliance.
Construction at 900 Innes Avenue is the second phase of the India Basin project. The first phase, an 18-month environmental cleanup of its land, shoreline, and shallow waters, was finished last month. Upcoming work will help establish habitat by recontouring the shoreline and planting vegetation within tidal and upland areas. The parcel was acquired by Rec and Park in 2014 and will serve as the heart of the new park.
Swinerton will lead the construction at 900 Innes Avenue. “Swinerton is very excited about the opportunity to help build one of the most significant park projects in San Francisco. Not only will this project bring beautiful landscapes to the residents, but it will help build and sustain local job creation for the community,” said Swinerton’s Division Manager Lori Dunn-Guion.
Recruitment and job readiness trainings are underway for community members interested in working on the project through a collaboration between Rec and Park, APRI and the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development. Specialty skills trainings for the first cohort of construction workers will begin in November with the support of the Northern California Laborer’s Union, Local 261. During the four-week program, community members will learn construction fundamentals and gain industry-recognized credentials. Recruitment and trainings for a second cohort of construction workers will begin early next year. To learn more, contact evahopkinsaprisf@gmail.com.
Public and private dollars already contributed to the overall $200 million initiative include $54 million in state funding secured by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Scott Wiener, Assemblymembers Phil Ting and Matt Haney, and Former Assemblymember and San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu; $29 million from San Francisco’s 2020 Health and Recovery Bond; and $14.3 million from two Proposition 68 grants. Philanthropic funding includes a $25 million donation from the John Pritzker Family Fund.
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