© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 92124
Bayview is
a changing working-class neighborhood on the southeast side of San Francisco,
near a former Navy yard called Hunters Point and Candlestick Park, home of the
Forty Niners. A mix of single-family houses, apartments, workshops and factories. www.mccormacks.com
Crime and
low-school scores have depressed home prices and rents but new housing may
change the demographics and this will influence social conditions.
Click for regional or detailed map
Over the next
five years, Hunters Point should become a hot spot for new homes. After almost
30 years of cleanup and preparations, construction in 2007 was underway on
1,600 residential units, mostly townhouses, situated on small hills overlooking
the Bay. Look north and you see the Bay Bridge.
A power
plant that polluted Bayview for decades was closed in 2006 and is being
dismantled. When the cleanup is finished, the City hopes to buy the land. Other
parcels at the Navy base are being decontaminated and prepared for housing,
stores and commercial.
The base
contains many large wooden buildings that served a variety of small and
medium-sized businesses. For health reasons, these businesses had to move out
during the cleanup. It’s possible that at least some might return but the
buildings look decrepit.
In 2007,
MUNI extended its light-rail line from the Giants' stadium down Third Street
through Bayview and added some class to the stations by installing works of
art. The $550 million project includes 19 new stations and 5.4 miles of track. www.mccormacks.com
In the
1990s, middle-class housing in the form of large condo complexes and single
homes were built near Candlestick Park, just off Highway 101.
When you
look at all this and the up-market units going in around Mission Bay and the
Giants stadium, you have the makings of an upscale shift on the southeast side
of the City. Keep in mind that San Francisco is small. Bayview-Hunters Point is
only a few miles from Mission Bay, the new bio-tech center.
The
Bayview commute is short and the views are pretty. The land rises and falls over small hills that overlook the Bay.
The Forty
Niners are threatening to move unless the City puts up a lot of money for a new
stadium. San Francisco passed a bond for the job but the Niner owners want more
or a package — shopping center — that gives them more. As of 2007,
the City and the Niners were huffing and puffing at each other but one of these
years something will jell.
Another
factor: public housing. The City has several tracts that were cheaply built
decades ago and obviously need to be replaced. San Francisco has upgraded its
public housing at other locations. For Bayview and Hunters Point, it’s a matter
of time and money. www.mccormacks.com
Not
everything is run down. Bayview has many streets of older homes that have been
maintained.
In the
1990s, Bayview built a new police station. There's a community center.
Following an upsurge in violence in 2004, police stepped up patrols and if you
drive the neighborhood today, the cop cars will be much in view. Crime,
however, remains a problem.
Parks and
playgrounds are scattered around neighborhood. Shoreline around Candlestick
Park is part of state recreation area.
When
traffic is rolling on Highway 101, it’s 10 minutes or less to jobs in downtown
or near airport. The light rail, which replaced buses, allows commuters to
forego the car, a plus in San Francisco.
•
Candlestick comes from the name given a rock formation, long gone, at the tip
of Candlestick Point. The stadium is officially “Monster Park,” after the firm
that purchased the naming rights but to many it will always be Candlestick. www.mccormacks.com
• The Navy
is spending about $500 million to clean up the base. The work includes the
restoration of Yosemite Slough, about 34 acres, to make the place congenial to
birds, fish and other wildlife. And to humans. Slowly but steadily, land is
being secured for a trail around the Bay. The slough is to get a few trails
that will connect to the Bay trail.
• To see
the new housing, take Evans Avenue and drive east. There’s a guard at the gate
but no one seems to pay him any attention. Drive right in.
