The developer for a massive redevelopment project at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and Candlestick Point in San Francisco presented city officials with a $7.3 million check Thursday morning.
The contribution by the Miami-based Lennar Corp., which was made to The San Francisco Foundation on behalf of the community’s residents, was earmarked for job training and affordable housing, with $1.5 million dedicated for workforce development and $5.4 million destined for housing.
The contribution marks the first installment of $37.5 million dedicated for those purposes, and Mayor Ed Lee, who spoke at a ceremony at City Hall this morning celebrating the donation, said he intends to ensure that promise is met.
“I ain’t going anywhere until this is fulfilled,” Lee said. “We want our African-American community to thrive in San Francisco.”
Lee said the 702-acre project, which will include 10,500 housing units as well as offices, stores and parks on the southeast shore of San Francisco, will “forever transform the neighborhood” as it creates jobs and builds housing.
Kofi Bonner, president of Lennar’s urban development division, said the donation is in response to the community’s call for additional funding to support the local workforce and to counteract the steady outward migration of young families from the city’s southeastern neighborhoods.
“We just love the fact that we’re beginning to work together” and share a vision for a better Bayview District, Bonner said.
Supervisor Malia Cohen, whose district includes the Bayview District and Hunters Point, also spoke at this morning’s check presentation ceremony.
“This is the first time in a long time the community is not fighting for investment but engaging in the shape of things to come,” Cohen said.
The project includes 421 acres of the shipyard and 281 acres of adjacent Candlestick Point, where the Candlestick Park stadium would be demolished and the Alice Griffith public housing, which Cohen called “one of the most dilapidated” projects in the city, would be renovated.
Cohen said she aims to ensure the community “will be known not for what they used to be but for what they will be.”
The San Francisco Foundation will oversee the management and distribution of the funds, which will be awarded by a committee consisting of community members, labor representatives, faith-based organizations and non-profits.
Patricia Decker, Bay City News
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