The San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week voted 8-3 to approve the environmental impact report for the 720-acre Hunters Point Shipyard redevelopment project, a major step in the progress of developer Lennar�s decade-long endurance test.

The board is scheduled to vote for final approval of the project on July 27.

Just prior to the board meeting, the San Francisco City Controller released an economic impact report on the project. Among the many benefits, the report found that at buildout, the project is expected to increase the city�s property tax base by approximately $11 billion, contribute $6.4 billion to $6.6 billion annually to San Francisco�s Gross City Product, and create up to 12,000 new direct jobs and 13,000 new indirect or �induced� jobs.

�The City Controller�s report confirms yet again that the proposed redevelopment of the Hunters Point Shipyard will create a powerful economic engine for the southeast sector and for our entire city,� says Mayor Newsom. �The redevelopment will transform an environmental blight into a new center of jobs, green technology investment, affordable housing and parks. There�s no project more important to our city�s economic future and an opportunity we simply cannot afford to let pass.�

The Hunters Point Shipyard redevelopment comprises 720 acres of waterfront land along San Francisco�s southeastern shores. The development project is designed to provide 10,500 residential units�32% of which will be offered at below-market rates�320 acres of parks and open space, including a new �Crissy Field of the South,� approximately 700,000 sq ft of destination retail and entertainment space and over 2.5 million sq ft of commercial space oriented around a �green� science and technology campus. The project can also accommodate an optional site for a world-class football stadium for the San Francisco 49ers if a preliminary deal for a stadium in Santa Clara falls through.

One piece of the report that is most contentious is a proposed bridge from the shipyard region into Candlestick Point over Yosemite Slough, which contains sensitive wildlife, according to environmentalists.

In other Hunters Point project news, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has advance a request for $15 million in federal stimulus dollars under the U.S. Department of Transportation�s Tiger II program to complete improvements to Harney Way.

The Harney Way improvements are a core piece of a $360 million transportation package to be constructed in southeast San Francisco as part of the Hunters Point Shipyard/Candlestick Point integrated development project. This multimodal plan will enhance the transportation networks currently serving the Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood, improve transit service, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, intersection control, curb ramps and landscaping, and pavement. The improvements will link portions of Southeast San Francisco with regional transportation resources and planned development at Hunters Point Shipyard and Candlestick Point.

In the Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood, 20% of households live below the poverty line. As such, the Mayor has made revitalization a priority with the recently-adopted, CEQA-certified Candlestick Point/Hunters Point Shipyard Phase II Plan.

�The Harney Way roadway, bus rapid transit and bikeway project will offer enhanced, affordable transportation options for residents who do not drive, including youth and seniors,� said Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., SFMTA Executive Director/CEO. �This project will provide numerous transportation improvements for the community in the short and long term.�

The reconstruction of Harney Way is the first portion of a package of proposed improvements that will be implemented as part of the Hunters Point Shipyard/Candlestick Point development project. The full suite of improvements includes reliable and safe transit and bicycle links to BART, Caltrain and downtown San Francisco and provides residents of southeast San Francisco and northern San Mateo County direct, seamless and affordable connections to all parts of the Bay Area.

�These improvements are a critical piece of moving the Hunters Point Shipyard/Candlestick Point Project forward and revitalizing this underserved neighborhood,� says Mayor Newsom.