San Francisco Breaks Ground on Historic Candlestick Point Redevelopment to Deliver 7,200 Mixed-Income Homes and Resilient Waterfront Infrastructure

Transforming a Storied Bay Area Waterfront into a Thriving Urban Community

SAN FRANCISCO, California — In one of the most substantial urban regeneration undertakings in Northern California history, municipal leaders, regional developers, and community advocates have officially broken ground on the comprehensive redevelopment of Candlestick Point. Spanning 280 acres along the southeastern waterfront of San Francisco on the historic site of the legendary Candlestick Park stadium, the generational master plan is slated to deliver 7,200 high-quality mixed-income homes, more than 750,000 square feet of commercial and research workspace, neighborhood-serving retail plazas, and over 30 acres of restored waterfront parkland along the San Francisco Bay.

The project represents a transformative private-public partnership designed to address the Bay Area's urgent housing deficit while delivering long-awaited community infrastructure to the historically underserved Bayview-Hunters Point district. City planners confirmed that at least 32 percent of all newly constructed residences will be permanently designated as below-market-rate affordable housing, ensuring that longtime working families, essential municipal workers, and seniors can thrive in the newly emerging waterfront neighborhood.

Subterranean Backbone Infrastructure and Sea-Level-Rise Defense

Phase 1 construction centers on extensive 'backbone' civil engineering and infrastructure modernization. Civil engineering teams are installing seismically reinforced underground utilities, high-capacity drinking water mains, advanced electrical distribution grids, and sustainable stormwater retention networks. Designed with forward-looking climate resilience standards, the shoreline perimeter incorporates elevated sea walls, bioswales, and living coastal wetlands engineered to protect the community against projected 100-year sea-level rise and severe tidal surges.

Additionally, the street grid will be completely reconfigured into a multimodal, pedestrian-friendly network featuring wide tree-lined sidewalks, protected two-way bicycle paths, and dedicated pickup bays for zero-emission delivery and transit services.

Multimodal Transit Priority and Regional Rail Connectivity

To guarantee seamless mobility without overburdening neighborhood roads, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and Caltrans are coordinating high-capacity transit links directly into Candlestick Point. Enhanced Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes will offer frequent, signal-prioritized connections linking the new development directly with the Bayshore Caltrain Station and the Muni Metro T Third Street light-rail line.

These transit enhancements leverage recently enacted California transit-oriented development legislation (including SB 79 and SB 1087), which streamlines planning approvals for compact, walkable residential hubs built in close proximity to major rail stations, ferry terminals, and express bus arteries.

Advancing San Francisco’s Housing Element and Economic Future

San Francisco civic leaders emphasized that advancing Candlestick Point is a vital milestone toward fulfilling the city's state-mandated Housing Element goal of constructing 82,000 new residences by 2031. Operating in tandem with the city’s recently adopted Family Zoning Plan—which enables sensible density along transit corridors—the Candlestick Point project demonstrates how large-scale, fact-based urban planning can generate thousands of union construction jobs, stimulate local commerce, and build an inclusive, climate-resilient future for San Francisco.