SkyscraperPage Forum - San Francisco: Mission Bay / Dogpatch

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San Francisco: Mission Bay / Dogpatch

San Francisco's newest neighborhood is nearly complete, so I thought I'd use this thread to chronicle how it transforms from a controversial, bland, generic aesthetic into a vibrant, organic neighborhood with improving street life. Most of SF's neighborhoods are very old and established, so it's interesting and unique opportunity to see one grow up before our very eyes.

Sourced from Wiki:
Before urbanization, Mission Bay was nestled inside of a 500 acre salt marsh and lagoon, a natural habitat for large water fowl populations that included ducks, geese, herons, egrets, ospreys and gulls. The Native American tribes who resided in this area were the Costanoan people who spoke eight different languages which delineated between the various tribelets. The tribe most prevalent in the Bay area was the Patwin people who resided in the area for over 5,000 years.

Beginning in the mid-1800s, Mission Bay was used as a convenient place to deposit refuse from building projects, as well as debris from the 1906 earthquake. Afterwards, the area quickly became an industrial district and was used for shipbuilding and repair, butchery and meat production, and oyster and clam fishing. It also became the home to railyards, shipyards, canneries, a sugar refinery and various warehouses.

In 1998 the area was announced by the Board of Supervisors as a redevelopment project. Much of the land had long been a railyard of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, and was transferred to Catellus Development Corporation. Since then, has rapidly evolved into a wealthy neighborhood of luxury condominiums, hospitals, and biotechnology research and development. It is anchored by the Giants, Warriors, and UCSF as the major establishments.

Dogpatch is a vibrant, up-and-coming area, south of Mission Bay, nestled between Potrero Hill and the bay. Formerly a shipbuilding hub dating back to the 1800s, this dockside area retains an industrial vibe with large warehouses, many of which have been updated into residential lofts, art galleries and indie shops.

Mission Bay is also just as green and accessible like any other neighborhood in San Francisco. There are multiple public green spaces, dog play areas, tennis courts and beach volleyball courts. Mission Creek is a serene waterfront breezeway perfect for cycling and jogging. A new Muni Metro subway line will connect this part of the city to Chinatown with stops in Downtown and SoMa.

If you're interested in specific developments and discussion, you can view them here in the General Development thread.

Here's a good before picture from 2007 that I found in the SSP development thread. It's the area at the top of the photo, towards the center and right, bordered by Mission Creek and 280.
https://farm1.static.flickr.com/67/175260886_7322a0907f_o.jpg

Nice pics!

I was last in Mission Bay/Dogpatch in 2019. It's nice to know the neighborhood is almost complete.

Is that legal to do yoga in public space?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murphy de la Sucre (Post 9545912)

Is that legal to do yoga in public space?

Of course. Even more common, though, is Tai Chi:

• Video Link

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopas ej (Post 9545765)

Nice pics!

I was last in Mission Bay/Dogpatch in 2019. It's nice to know the neighborhood is almost complete.

It's definitely still on the quieter side (at least for non game days) but starting to pick up. There's still some ground floor retail spaces that are empty or coming soon, so that should help further activate the street life when they open. I hope they keep Spark Social though since they seems to be really popular among the local residents for quick casual food, but I think I read somewhere it's supposed to be replaced by permanent green space eventually.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murphy de la Sucre (Post 9545912)

Is that legal to do yoga in public space?

It should be. It's common for people do yoga and do other exercises, either individually or as a class, in a variety of outdoor public settings in the US. I don't think it's a thing specific to SF or California.

Yes, I often see tai chi in the park.

I've even seen a Zumba (sp. ?) class in the park.

Thanks for posting. It looks like a nice place. As someone mentioned, it bears some similarities with the Seaport in Boston, but probably with better transit. It seems like they could have gone a little taller due to its location and the affordability issues that SF has.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smuttynose1 (Post 9547334)

Thanks for posting. It looks like a nice place. As someone mentioned, it bears some similarities with the Seaport in Boston, but probably with better transit. It seems like they could have gone a little taller due to its location and the affordability issues that SF has.

Yeah I think that's one of the criticisms I and others have had of Mission Bay in general. We definitely could've built taller for more units given the housing shortage. I'm not sure if it has to do with height limits or NIMBYism or the fact that it's built on landfill, so they weren't comfortable with it being too tall.

That being said, some of the newer construction at the Mission Rock portion of the development is going to be a little taller in the 200-250 ft range, although I still think that's not reaching our full potential for this area.

https://sfyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2...ite-map-with-maximum-heights-labeled.jpg

https://sfyimby.com/2021/12/sfyimby-site...gress-at-mission-rock-san-francisco.html

Where is it NOT legal to do yoga outside? Most of the parks near me in Queens have outdoor yoga in the warm months.

Thanks for sharing. Wonderful pics. I have a great view of Mission Bay from my home and often wish it was a bit taller so it added to the skyline. Regardless,form your pictures I would have to say that they have done a great job with this neighborhood. I have never explored it but it certainly looks worth exploring.

^disagree. I love the scale, look and feel... if not a bit overly contrived like many recent 'hoods'.

I used to live in the area until 2014, and there was no arena yet. It was not part of the original master plan. Has the arena been integrated into the neighborhood successfully?

Quote:

Originally Posted by geomorph (Post 9596119)

I used to live in the area until 2014, and there was no arena yet. It was not part of the original master plan. Has the arena been integrated into the neighborhood successfully?

I would say so. There's definitely a lot of people that walk and take public transit to the game and utilize the businesses and restaurants/bars around the arena before and after the game. Many of the Mission Bay residences are within a 5-10 walk of Chase Center. I think the only downside is that the UCSF campus takes up so much space (nearly 18 blocks) that it creates a sort of "dead zone" right next to the arena that would be better served by more housing and restaurants. So the street activity is mainly limited to the areas North and South of Chase, rather than coming in from the West.

Quote:

Originally Posted by homebucket (Post 9596880)

the only downside is that the UCSF campus takes up so much space (nearly 18 blocks) that it creates a sort of "dead zone" right next to the arena that would be better served by more housing and restaurants. So the street activity is mainly limited to the areas North and South of Chase, rather than coming in from the West.

So when you get cancer or a stroke you would expect to go where? To a restaurant?

Cities need facilities that provide essential services from Amazon deliveries to medical care and they have to fit into the urban fabric somewhere.

As you well know, UCSF chose to expand its campus to Mission Bay long before the Golden State Warriors relocated there and, in fact, had that site not been available they were considering a new campus outside the city entirely in Bay Farm. At the time, and in the original city conception, Mission Bay was planned to be a biotech hub, with housing mixed in among buildings dedicated to biotech research. UCSF was an integral part of that.

Chase Center is a late-coming interloper and was opposed by one former Mayor arguing it interfered with the hospital's activities rather than the reverse. I argued then and I'll argue now the area can accommodate both.