[CPEO-IRF] Presidio of San Francisco

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[The Presidio of San Francisco's successful rebirth offers lessons for 
other closing bases, but most major closures don't share three major 
characteristics of the former base: 1) a high political profile; 2) very 
little soil or groundwater contamination; and 3) as the first of the two 
articles below reports, "some of the most valuable real estate on 
Earth." - LS]


A GREEN BELT IN THE BLACK
PRESIDIO AS NATIONAL PARK ACHIEVES SELF-SUSTAINING GOAL 8 YEARS EARLY

Dan Levy
San Francisco Chronicle
June 19, 2005

When the Army abandoned its Presidio base 11 years ago, the San 
Francisco landmark was left with a daunting challenge: How to transform 
a collection of crumbling barracks, dilapidated forts and forgotten 
forests into an urban national park that could pay for itself.

From the beginning, many darkly speculated that the old military haunt 
would end up being chopped into pieces and sold to private developers.

Today, though, a visit to the northern tip of the city reveals that the 
Presidio is well on its way to fulfilling its lofty goal of becoming a 
self- sufficient natural wonder in the midst of a bustling metropolis.

George Lucas' new entertainment empire, a tile-roofed cluster of 
formidable red and white buildings, dominates the site of what used to 
be an unsightly hospital. About 2,500 residents now live in renovated 
barracks and stately officers quarters. Crissy Field, the Presidio's 
front yard, has been re-invented from a gritty, concrete wasteland into 
a wildly popular marsh with shoreline views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Perhaps most surprising, the Presidio Trust made money for the first 
time last year, earning $43.2 million -- most of it from commercial and 
residential property rentals -- while spending $40.5 million to operate 
the park.

That's a real accomplishment, considering that Congress has set a 2013 
deadline for the park to pay its bills without relying on Washington.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/19/MNGKBDB3KI1.DTL&hw=Presidio&sn=001&sc=1000

See also

THE PRESIDIO
New life for historic homes of Presidio's 'Pilots' Row'
Renovation of 13 vintage houses a $3 million project

Kathleen Sullivan
San Francisco Chronicle
June 17, 2005

As Lincoln Boulevard curves around the northernmost tip of the Presidio 
of San Francisco, a row of beige wood-frame homes with red-tile roofs 
comes into view -- even on a recent foggy morning in the national park.

They are modest homes whose enclosed front porches look out on small yards.

On clear days, the imposing south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge can be 
seen -- and appears startlingly close -- from the front yards and 
windows of most of the houses.

The homes were built in 1921 for pilots with families stationed at 
Crissy Army Air Field, the nearby grass airfield on the edge of San 
Francisco Bay.

The 13 historic buildings -- a commander's house flanked on each side by 
six identical buildings -- are getting a makeover so they can be rented 
to a new generation of individuals and families.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/17/WBG7BD6BIR1.DTL&hw=Presidio&sn=002&sc=272



--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org

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