Program Helping Bayview Youth

Thanks to a helpful hand from Lennar, young adults in Bayview-Hunters Point are learning cutting-edge skills in the rapidly changing field of digital media.

The Bayview Hunters Point Center For Arts and Technology (BAYCAT) has been training youth and young adults through its Digital Design and Media Arts Career Training Pilot Program, funded through a $150,000 donation from Lennar.

During the first year of the program, BAYCAT recruited and trained 35 young adults. Lennar’s donation has also helped fund BAYCAT’s efforts to identify a further 70 prospective recruits for training in film and TV production, motion graphics and animation, graphic design and web design.

In addition to reaching out to Bayview-Hunters Point residents, BAYCAT has also been providing professional marketing and design services to local businesses, non-profit organizations and cultural institutions on a low-cost or pro bono basis.

BAYCAT also has developed an internship and education program. The program consists of a year’s worth of training with 100 hours of work required per semester. Upon completion, students can qualify for entry level employment in the digital media arts and technology field.

Dusting off The Truth

The word was loud and clear at City Hall on Tuesday about the real facts regarding Lennar’s redevelopment of Hunters Point Shipyard. More than 200 prominent Bayview ministers and community members rallied on the steps of City Hall to let elected officials know the project is safe and necessary to the eventual revitalization of southeast San Francisco.

The ministers were there to respond to recent personal attacks against Senator Diane Feinstein and Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, among others, which have no place in decent society. And they wanted the people of Bayview-Hunters Point to know that the politics of fear and intimidation won’t stop real progress from taking root, starting at the site of the Shipyard.

After booming the truth out on the steps, ministers took their beliefs directly to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. During public comment, Pastor Josiah Bell told the supervisors “there is no scientific evidence that there is a harmful dust emission out at the Bayview-Hunters Point area and we want to encourage you to go forward with this project. That project is needed for our community.”

IAM brings the World to Bayview-Hunters Point

The second annual International African Marketplace (IAM) kicks off for three consecutive weekends this September, bringing the best in food, art and culture from the African Disapora to celebrate Bayview-Hunters Point's rich African American heritage.

This year the IAM will host free events from noon to 5 p.m. at the Bayview Opera House during the weekends of Sept. 15-66, 22-23 and 29-30.

The IAM is currently operating on an interim basis until a permanent location at Lennar’s development at Hunters Point is built. The goal of the marketplace is to serve as a venue for all cultures of the African Diaspora, coordinate resources of the African American business, social services and artistic community and develop into an attraction for tourists and residents alike.

Events in September will feature the finest in World music, jazz and rhythm and blues, including performers as Brasil Brasil, Pete Escoveda and Kotoja. Children’s activities will include mask making, mural painting and t-shirt design.

Reconnect with your cultural roots or just come out for a great time.

Community Filling Jobs for Shipyard Redevelopment

Lennar is proving itself to be a good neighbor in Bayview-Hunters Point, investing significant resources by hiring area residents and companies to perform work on the redevelopment of the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard.

Numbers recently released by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency show the company has awarded $30 million worth of contracts to construction companies located in the BVHP Impact Area. Of that amount nearly, $20 million has gone to minority contractors.

Lennar also has followed through on its commitment to hiring minority workers, frequently exceeding benchmarks set by the City and County of San Francisco. Out of a total of 88,569 construction labor hours recorded during the project’s initial phase, 77 percent of the work was performed by minorities.

For the project’s grading and retaining wall work, $10.8 million in contracts was awarded to minority subcontractors located in the BVHP Impact Area. Out of 77,000 construction labor hours needed for this work, 73 percent of the building was performed by minorities.

During the infrastructure phase, 100% of the work will go to BVHP impact area contractors and 50% of all workers hired are expected to come from within the BVHP impact area.

The redevelopment of the 63 acres at the Shipyard’s Parcel A includes construction of 1,500 homes, 20 acres of recreation and open space, 10,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, and nine active BVHP Community Benefits Programs.

Tailgating Goes Green

When you think football, you think tailgating and when you think tailgating you think parking lots. Not anymore.

Lennar’s dual development plan for Hunters Point Shipyard and Candlestick Point recently approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors includes a stadium that employs grass fields as parking lots instead of hot stinky blacktop.

Not only is the grass approach more eco-friendly it also means more than just football. When the stadium isn’t in use, the fields can be used for soccer, baseball and other recreational opportunities.

When it comes to a new stadium in San Francisco, the grass and the tailgating will be greener.

San Francisco’s Newest and Greenest Waterfront Neighborhood

In some ways, southeast San Francisco, where the city’s last undeveloped waterfront property is located, has been a work in progress since 1974. That’s when the U.S. Navy raised anchor and said adios to the Hunters Point Shipyard, leaving behind a big cleanup job, but a lot of possibilities too.

One of those possibilities is reversing decades of environmental neglect by building a self-sustaining, eco-friendly community. New building designs, more efficient lighting and the use of solar power means new homes at Hunters Point will use 43 percent less natural gas, up to 81 percent less electricity and save as much as 48 percent of the energy used to heat and cool a typical home.

Lennar is helping to make all of this a reality, offering job training, contributing to local charitable causes and moving forward with the redevelopment of 63 acres overlooking the Shipyard to make way for hundreds of new homes. Meanwhile, thousands of residents are doing their part to keep Bayview-Hunters Point a vibrant place in which to live and work.

Hunters Point -- Who Knew?

Most people know Hunters Point best as a former naval shipyard, a good place for fishing, one of the sunniest spots in San Francisco or a prime location for windsurfers.

But did you know that Hunters Point was the first permanent dry dock established on the West Coast in 1867? By 1911, the Shipyard was believed to have the largest pier in the world, capable of accommodating a vessel 1000 feet in length.

When you think Hunters Point, art doesn’t readily come to mind. But the former Shipyard is now home to the largest artists’ colony in the U.S. More than 300 painters, sculptors and other artists use a complex of studio space to create their work.

Open studio events are held at the Shipyard twice a year. Many artists say the scenic vistas and wide industrial spaces are perfect for their inspiration.


At least one celebrity, Merv Griffin, worked at the shipyard in the summer of 1942 at the Shipyard’s supply depot.

And while you may think Hunters Point was named for the choice duck hunting to be found more than a century ago, you’d be wrong. The southernmost tip of San Francisco was named for the Point’s first residents, the Hunter family, a pioneer clan which settled in the area in the 1800s.

Today, Lennar is transforming the former Shipyard into a thriving and vibrant new neighborhood along the city's southeast waterfront. Lennar's vision for the new community includes 1,500 homes, new parks and open space, and economic opportunities for Bayview Hunters Point residents.