World Report

The region is once again transforming itself, with a raft of massive transport, industrial and housing developments

The region is once again transforming itself, with a raft of massive transport, industrial and housing developments

unny California has continually reinvented itself as successive waves of adventurers and entrepreneurs have swept in, from the gold rush era to the days of shipbuilding and commerce to the dot-com boom. Now the dot-com bubble has burst, the California Bay Area is undergoing yet another transformation, looking to the promise of hi-tech industry and enhancing its tourism potential.

Any industry relies on the sophistication of a region’s infrastructure. And Sunne Wright McPeak, President of the Bay Area Council, says transport and housing are the two most important issues on the agenda. The 275-member council – a private organisation set up in 1945 – strives to co-ordinate the work of both public and private sectors, although Ms McPeak does not make light of the problems they face.

Sunne Wright McPeak
‘The region is a very large and complex geographic area’

“The region is a very large, complex geographic area and it’s hard to get everyone marching in the same direction,” she says. “There are nine counties, 101 cities, 110 local jurisdictions, five regional agencies and three very significant metropolitan centres, Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco – and that can magnify the challenge of getting political consensus exponentially.

“What we’ve done is to reach out and get more members. We’ve expanded our partnerships with non-private organisations, making for a more efficient interface for those who make the policies.”

Despite the economic downturn, particularly in the wake of the collapse of many dot-coms, Ms McPeak points out: “The Bay Area still makes a greater contribution to our overall regional gross product from IT and manufacturing than, for example, Los Angeles or San Diego. We should be able to sustain growth of 4.2-5.1 per cent over a three-to-five year period. That’s a very respectable growth rate.”

Mostyn Lloyd, Executive Director of the British-American Chamber of Commerce of Northern California, which includes Silicon Valley and the Bay Area, adds: “California has the ability to reinvent itself. People are very innovative. And there’s no disgrace about failure here.”

The city of San Francisco exemplifies this attitude. As new hi-tech industries move into the San Francisco Bay Area, a massive programme to overhaul the city’s public transport system is under way. Vast acreages of derelict land are being redeveloped for housing, commercial use and new scientific research institutions.

With its diverse and vibrant culture, tourism is also a key industry in San Francisco, and there are schemes afoot to improve the city’s many attractions. Part of the downtown waterfront district has already been transformed by the removal of a freeway, opening up new vistas, and the creation of walks and open-air cafés.

Much more is in the pipeline, as Leamon Abrams, Director of Economic Development in the mayor’s office, explains: “We are trying to advance several projects. One is the trans-bay terminal. This is a project to create a world-class mass transportation hub in the heart of San Francisco, which we hope will create exciting retail, hotel and office developments.” There is also a project to build a new cruise-liner terminal, involving two piers dedicated to modern liners, together with waterfront developments.

There is significant investment being put into the city’s infrastructure. A £317-million light railway from PacBell Park to Visitacion Valley is expected to carry around 10,000 passengers a day.

Another project is to turn the city’s late 19th century mint in the commercial district into 75,000 square feet of mixed-used development. The building is close to the Museum of Modern Art, the Mexican American Museum, the African American Museum and the new Jewish Museum.
In Golden Gate Park, the old DeYoung Museum has been demolished to make way for a new museum, and the California Academy of Sciences has proposed a £1.3-billion new building in the park.

Earlier this year, work began on the demolition of another freeway for the ‘Octavia Boulevard Project’. The land beneath the freeway will be transformed into a tree-lined boulevard, with up to 900 new houses, plus shops and offices.
The Hunter’s Point Shipyard – closed in 1974 – is yet another area of development. “We plan to build build several thousand housing units there,” says Mr Abrams. “We are going to make this 515-acre site a viable and thriving part of the city.”