SAN FRANCISCO—Today's workforce continues to be drawn to the city as one of the most desirable places to live with its creative energy, venture capital and proximity to higher education institutions. However, the economic growth headwinds include diminishing land, strained transit, old infrastructure, high costs of living and legislative development hurdles.

One development looks to buck these issues in a big way. Namely, the SF Shipyard is the Bay Area's largest commercial development under single ownership and the largest urban development on the West Coast.

The master developer of the 5 million-square-foot project is FivePoint. The multi-billion-dollar waterfront community along the southeastern shoreline anchors a wider plan that incorporates the Candlestick Park site into adjoining communities. The site will include a unique range of features including a 760-acre site, a combined 12,000 homes with a selection of affordable and market-rate apartments, townhomes and condominiums; more than one million square feet of retail; and more than 350 acres of waterfront parks, trails and restored shoreline.

Housing for the Shipyard is a joint effort with neighboring FivePoint development Candlestick Point. A commercial tenant will have early visibility and opportunity in considering employees' housing. With Bay Area housing in short supply, this is a unique housing solution. And, transit options are comprehensive, with future ferry service, shuttles to BART and CalTrain, light rail access, enhanced bus service, dedicated cycling paths, and care-share and ride-share drop-off spots.

Kofi Bonner, regional president Northern California, FivePoint, recently discussed some of the aspects of the project in this GlobeSt.com exclusive.

GlobeSt.com: The numbers are staggering. How will a development of this magnitude impact the surrounding area? The Bay Area in general?

Kofi Bonner:  San Francisco is only 49 square miles, dense and blessed with terrific geography. The SF Shipyard and Candlestick Communities together represent the last significant opportunities for the city to evolve and continue to cement itself as the economic epicenter of the Bay Area. The SF Shipyard and Candlestick Communities are located within 5 miles of downtown San Francisco, minutes from the UCSF campus and the new Warriors arena under construction and sit on the waterfront. The communities have the requisite government approvals, and significant levels of community and political support. The almost 800 acres are planned to connect and extend the best of the city to the Southeastern waterfront, in an urban integrated mixed-use environment. The SF Shipyard integrates the almost 5 million square feet into a collection of rehabilitated industrial buildings and new commercial complexes, connected by smart infrastructure to reduce the carbon footprint of the community.

The SF Shipyard and Candlestick communities will transform the once-iconic areas of San Francisco into a newer more vibrant, entertaining and economically relevant version of the city, and in doing so, will become memorable additions to the whole Bay Area.

GlobeSt.com: With the 12,000 homes, this will be a true LWP environment. What does that provide that was lacking in the surrounding area?

Bonner: The southeastern portion of San Francisco has primarily consisted of single-family homes, in fact it has the highest homeownership rate in the city at 40%; the rest of the city is around 30%, and older light industrial workspaces. The area has proportionately fewer significant open spaces than the remainder of the city and the most iconic spaces in the past were the Candlestick Stadium and the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard which closed in '76. The new communities will be a true live, work, play, learn and connect environment. The residential products will be varied, from low-rise townhomes and five-story flats to mid-rise and high-rise condos, and flats of up to 32 stories with views overlooking the 300 acres of park and the stunning Bay. The 12,000 homes will be delivered to a mix of incomes and generations, from senior living to family housing, from low income to very high luxury condos.

GlobeSt.com: With regard to “future” ferry service, shuttles to BART and CalTrain, light rail access and enhanced bus service, how soon in the future is this or to coincide with the unveiling?

Bonner: The communities will connect to downtown San Francisco and Silicon Valley locations in a variety of ways: 1. The city is contractually obligated to expand the municipal transit into the communities as they grow. This will include express bus service routes to downtown and to the BART system. 2. As part of the onsite infrastructure program, FivePoint will build a bus rapid transit system that will operate from the planned transit terminal on the Shipyard in dedicated lanes from the Shipyard across a bridge to be built by FivePoint linking the Shipyard to Candlestick, past the retail/entertainment center to the Caltrain station and then loop back to the Shipyard. This system is estimated to be fully operational by 2023. The CalTrain links directly to stops in the Silicon Valley. 3. FivePoint will provide for speedy water taxi service with vessels that accommodate a 12- to 40-person craft (or mini ferry service, up to 85 people), that will operate from the Shipyard to the Ferry building in San Francisco and to various landing sites in the southern part of the Bay Area including Oyster Point and Redwood Landing. We expect to have the water taxi service operational by 2020. 4. FivePoint currently operates a shuttle service from the Shipyard to downtown San Francisco. This service will be expanded to accommodate future businesses as the Shipyard grows and we develop the full transit program. And, the two communities have a transportation demand program to assess future needs.

The exclusive leasing agent is Cushman & Wakefield, led by executive managing directors and managing principals, JD Lumpkin in San Francisco, and Mike Moran in the Peninsula and Silicon Valley.

“Much as the center of gravity for San Francisco shifted south when the Giants moved into town, the center of gravity for San Francisco will shift south again as the San Francisco Shipyard community comes on line,” Moran said. “We are open for business and can address office, R&D, life science and other creative uses on-site.”

SAN FRANCISCO—Today's workforce continues to be drawn to the city as one of the most desirable places to live with its creative energy, venture capital and proximity to higher education institutions. However, the economic growth headwinds include diminishing land, strained transit, old infrastructure, high costs of living and legislative development hurdles.

One development looks to buck these issues in a big way. Namely, the SF Shipyard is the Bay Area's largest commercial development under single ownership and the largest urban development on the West Coast.

The master developer of the 5 million-square-foot project is FivePoint. The multi-billion-dollar waterfront community along the southeastern shoreline anchors a wider plan that incorporates the Candlestick Park site into adjoining communities. The site will include a unique range of features including a 760-acre site, a combined 12,000 homes with a selection of affordable and market-rate apartments, townhomes and condominiums; more than one million square feet of retail; and more than 350 acres of waterfront parks, trails and restored shoreline.

Housing for the Shipyard is a joint effort with neighboring FivePoint development Candlestick Point. A commercial tenant will have early visibility and opportunity in considering employees' housing. With Bay Area housing in short supply, this is a unique housing solution. And, transit options are comprehensive, with future ferry service, shuttles to BART and CalTrain, light rail access, enhanced bus service, dedicated cycling paths, and care-share and ride-share drop-off spots.

Kofi Bonner, regional president Northern California, FivePoint, recently discussed some of the aspects of the project in this GlobeSt.com exclusive.

GlobeSt.com: The numbers are staggering. How will a development of this magnitude impact the surrounding area? The Bay Area in general?

Kofi Bonner:  San Francisco is only 49 square miles, dense and blessed with terrific geography. The SF Shipyard and Candlestick Communities together represent the last significant opportunities for the city to evolve and continue to cement itself as the economic epicenter of the Bay Area. The SF Shipyard and Candlestick Communities are located within 5 miles of downtown San Francisco, minutes from the UCSF campus and the new Warriors arena under construction and sit on the waterfront. The communities have the requisite government approvals, and significant levels of community and political support. The almost 800 acres are planned to connect and extend the best of the city to the Southeastern waterfront, in an urban integrated mixed-use environment. The SF Shipyard integrates the almost 5 million square feet into a collection of rehabilitated industrial buildings and new commercial complexes, connected by smart infrastructure to reduce the carbon footprint of the community.

The SF Shipyard and Candlestick communities will transform the once-iconic areas of San Francisco into a newer more vibrant, entertaining and economically relevant version of the city, and in doing so, will become memorable additions to the whole Bay Area.

GlobeSt.com: With the 12,000 homes, this will be a true LWP environment. What does that provide that was lacking in the surrounding area?

Bonner: The southeastern portion of San Francisco has primarily consisted of single-family homes, in fact it has the highest homeownership rate in the city at 40%; the rest of the city is around 30%, and older light industrial workspaces. The area has proportionately fewer significant open spaces than the remainder of the city and the most iconic spaces in the past were the Candlestick Stadium and the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard which closed in '76. The new communities will be a true live, work, play, learn and connect environment. The residential products will be varied, from low-rise townhomes and five-story flats to mid-rise and high-rise condos, and flats of up to 32 stories with views overlooking the 300 acres of park and the stunning Bay. The 12,000 homes will be delivered to a mix of incomes and generations, from senior living to family housing, from low income to very high luxury condos.

GlobeSt.com: With regard to “future” ferry service, shuttles to BART and CalTrain, light rail access and enhanced bus service, how soon in the future is this or to coincide with the unveiling?

Bonner: The communities will connect to downtown San Francisco and Silicon Valley locations in a variety of ways: 1. The city is contractually obligated to expand the municipal transit into the communities as they grow. This will include express bus service routes to downtown and to the BART system. 2. As part of the onsite infrastructure program, FivePoint will build a bus rapid transit system that will operate from the planned transit terminal on the Shipyard in dedicated lanes from the Shipyard across a bridge to be built by FivePoint linking the Shipyard to Candlestick, past the retail/entertainment center to the Caltrain station and then loop back to the Shipyard. This system is estimated to be fully operational by 2023. The CalTrain links directly to stops in the Silicon Valley. 3. FivePoint will provide for speedy water taxi service with vessels that accommodate a 12- to 40-person craft (or mini ferry service, up to 85 people), that will operate from the Shipyard to the Ferry building in San Francisco and to various landing sites in the southern part of the Bay Area including Oyster Point and Redwood Landing. We expect to have the water taxi service operational by 2020. 4. FivePoint currently operates a shuttle service from the Shipyard to downtown San Francisco. This service will be expanded to accommodate future businesses as the Shipyard grows and we develop the full transit program. And, the two communities have a transportation demand program to assess future needs.

The exclusive leasing agent is Cushman & Wakefield, led by executive managing directors and managing principals, JD Lumpkin in San Francisco, and Mike Moran in the Peninsula and Silicon Valley.

“Much as the center of gravity for San Francisco shifted south when the Giants moved into town, the center of gravity for San Francisco will shift south again as the San Francisco Shipyard community comes on line,” Moran said. “We are open for business and can address office, R&D, life science and other creative uses on-site.”