Two new San Francisco waterfront parks boast stunning views of bay

SAN FRANCISCO - A new $33-million waterfront park opened on Tuesday in San Francisco near the Chase Center, following the opening of another shoreline park a few days before. 

Bayfront Park, the newest to open, includes 5.5 acres of lawn and rusted steel support beams of the Bay Bridge's original eastern span. 

The property is owned and managed by the Port of San Francisco, and paid for by the Mission Bay Development Group, in partnership with the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure.

The park is long and narrow and runs from Terry Francois Boulevard to the San Francisco Bay. 

"What we are doing is preparing for this incredible bay trail that will link the southern part of San Francisco all the way down to the Embarcadero," San Francisco Mayor London Breed said on Tuesdday. "Bike trails, walking paths and this opening will lead to such an extraordinary experience  for the people of San Francisco." 

Bayfront Park opened a few days after the grand opening of the southern India Basin Shoreline Park, at 900 Innes Avenue, which the park district said marked one of the most significant park projects in San Francisco history. 

The $200-million investment connects the historically underserved Bayview-Hunter’s Point residents to the bay, providing waterfront access for the first time in generations, transforming a former brownfield into a thriving public space, the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department proudly stated.   

The 900 Innes park is part of the larger India Basin Waterfront Park project, which began in 2021.

Public and private money both contributed to the overall $200 million price tag, including $69 million in state funding secured by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Scott Wiener, Assemblymembers Phil Ting, David Chu, and Matt Haney, the 2020 Health and Recovery Bond, and Proposition 68 grants. 

Philanthropic funding includes a $25 million donation from the John Pritzker Family Fund, $20 million from Crankstart, and other major contributions from Marc and Lynne Benioff, the Hellman Foundation, Mimi and Peter Haas Fund, Rebecca and Cal Henderson, Baker Street Foundation, the Fisher Family, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and others.