Developing The Un-Park In San Francisco's Presidio

Situated along the waters of the San Francisco Bay underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio National Park has one of the most prime pieces of real estate in the city. It attracts many, especially since the Presidio Trust - a private group- took over its management and rapidly expanded development within the park. Its many buildings leftover from mid-century army-base days have provided the Trust with a plethora of development opportunities. Profits from the development have been instrumental in helping the Trust to live up to its promise to Congress: that it could make the national park self-sufficient.

However, the development in the park is unlike development in any other park in the nation. The emphasis at the Presidio is not on building cabins and trails, but rather on developing high-rent housing, upscale retail such as a newly opened day spa, and top-dollar investors like George Lucas who recently opened a 17-acre digital arts center.

"But as the Trust begins work on the Presidio's remaining districts, the bottom line isn't enough. If buildings are filled strictly on the basis of who has the deepest wallets, the result could be a monument to lowered expectations -- rather than a tribute to the remarkable setting and history."

" 'The ultimate test will be the decisions made from here on,' says Brian O'Neill, superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which manages the Presidio's 323 acres along the ocean and bay. 'We need to think about framing what the Presidio ultimately means to the American public.' "