The San Francisco Giants will be unveiling a $1.6-billion development next to AT&T Park, designed to both improve the area and put more money into team coffers.
It’s a plan that’s not lacking for vision or grandeur: indeed, it’s one of the biggest building projects in San Francisco history. The team, along with Cordish Companies, has a plan to take 27 acres next to the ballpark (an open space used for parking) and turn it into a work/live/play destination. From the San Francisco Chronicle:
“We believe we have an opportunity to launch what could potentially be one of the biggest economic development projects the city has ever seen,” Larry Baer, the president and CEO of the Giants, told The Chronicle’s editorial board.
The $1.6 billion Mission Rock project, which will be unveiled at a news conference Wednesday, calls for a bayside park, up to 1,000 rental units, 1.7 million square feet of office space and a variety of locally oriented businesses, a multistory parking lot, eating places and other spots designed to serve both fans headed to a ballgame and the growing number of Mission Bay residents and workers.
“We’re looking at San Francisco originals, not chains,” Baer said. “What we have now are a lot of ideas.”
The game plan: the Giants, Cordish and the Port of San Francisco (which owns the land and an adjoining pier) will work out a development deal by the end of the year. There will be two years of environmental review, with construction finally beginning in 2015. The project could generate 9,000 construction jobs and 7,200 permanent jobs while serving as expansion of the Mission Bay neighborhood.
Development projects next to a ballpark are always fraught with potential and disappointment. Cordish has been involved with several efforts: Ballpark Village next to the new Busch Stadium has been through several iterations and is still mainly an open space next to the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, while an entertainment district next to Kansas City’s Sprint Center has been more successful.
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