June has been such a banner month for local planning, we barely know what to do with ourselves. In recent weeks, the SF Board of Supervisors approved two major projects: Parkmerced and Treasure Island. Combined they will bring 13,000 new units of housing to the city.

The Parkmerced plan will add more than 5,600 units to the existing 3,221 on the 155-acre site. Built in the late 1940s and early 1950s by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, in part to meet the housing needs of returning WWII veterans and their families, the original Parkmerced development was designed for the sensibilities of the times: thirsty suburban-like lawns, auto-centric street patterns and single-use zoning that means everyone has to get in their car to pick up the proverbial quart of milk. Construction shortcuts due to post-war materials shortages have resulted in rapidly deteriorating buildings on much of the site. The new plan will incorporate a walkable street grid, the creation of a mixed-use corridor that will host approximately 200,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail, daycare services, and 90,000 square feet of office space. In addition, Parkmerced will be funding the extension of the Muni M-line into the complex on a dedicated transit street.

The Treasure Island plan will develop 8,000 units of housing and 450,000 square feet of retail space, rehabilitate historic structures, create 300 acres of open space, add new ferry service, and enhance bus service to and from the island. SPUR is particularly supportive of the way in which the proposed new development clusters around the new ferry terminal, as opposed to being dispersed across the island.

SPUR worked hard to support these important projects, and we’re thrilled that they’ve made their way across the finish line.