A sprawling campus. That’s UCSF Mission Bay. This wasn’t always so. Once a salt marsh teeming with waterfowl. Native American tribes the Costanoan and Patwin called this home for over 5000 years. Then came the 1800s. Mission Bay became a dumping ground. Debris from building projects and the 1906 earthquake filled the bay. It transformed into an industrial district. Shipyards canneries and a sugar refinery thrived.
Fast forward to 1998. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors declared Mission Bay a redevelopment project. The Southern Pacific Railroad’s railyards were repurposed. Catellus Development Corporation took over much of the land. They sold or subcontracted parcels to other developers. A toxic H&H Ship Service Facility was closed.
The transformation was dramatic. Luxury condos hospitals and biotech research emerged. UCSF Mission Bay campus opened in 2015. A new 289-bed hospital followed serving children women and cancer patients. Construction began in 2010. The campus now houses three UCSF Nobel laureates and nearly 4000 faculty members staff and students.
The Mission Bay Branch Library opened in 2006. It’s part of a multi-use facility with senior housing and retail space. Old Navy’s headquarters are here at 550 Terry Francois Blvd. The Chase Center stands as a testament to Mission Bay’s revitalization. It replaced the planned Salesforce headquarters. Nektar Therapeutics and Bayer’s U.S. Innovation Center share a building. Around 56 biotech companies cluster in Mission Bay.
Mission Bay’s rebirth isn’t complete. The Mission Bay School will open in 2025. This is the neighborhood’s first public school. The area boasts the San Francisco Bay Trail and the Blue Greenway waterfront trail. Yet a reminder of the past lingers. A sinking sidewalk on the 1200 block of 4th street persists. From marshland to a hub of innovation UCSF Mission Bay showcases San Francisco’s remarkable ability to reinvent itself. The journey continues. The future of UCSF Mission Bay is still unfolding.