Local
Mission Bay Community Receives $1.35 Million State Grant
By Emerson Guerrero
Sep 5, 2010 - 10:17:37 AM

SAN FRANCISCO—The Mission Bay community was designated as a “California Catalyst Community” last Wednesday, enabling a $1,350,000 state grant.

Mayor Gavin Newsom announced that the Mission Bay project along with five other California communities were designated “California Catalyst Communities” by the California Department of Housing Community Development. Communities are designated Catalyst Communities, by showing themselves to be models of sustainable development, demonstrating a commitment to increasing housing supply and affordability, and improving the link between jobs and housing. The $1.35 million grant will be used to support the affordable housing, and establishes Mission Bay as a Priority for the future of State and Federal Funding.

The Mission Bay project area is a 303-acre site that was designated as a redevelopment project area in 1998. Mission bay has since then become a large scale, transit-oriented development. The project when fully completed will contain more than 6,000 housing units, 4.4 million square feet of office and laboratory space and 49 acres of parks. UCSF also benefits from the program, gaining a 550-bed hospital specializing in women, children and cancer patients, and a 43-acre life science research campus.

Mayor Newsom said, “ Mission Bay has become a critical engine for innovation and job growth in San Francisco and it will be an important part of our City and regional economy for decades to come. The ‘Catalyst Community’ designation and these grant funds will help ensure that Mission Bay continues to be a model for smart growth and sustainable, affordable development.”

The funding for the Catalyst project is provided from Proposition 1C, which enables financing for affordable housing and infrastructure in California. The Department of Housing Community Development makes a commitment to provide and facilitate financial and technical resources in support of the areas it designates “Catalyst Communities.”