Lennar Corp. tied up a major victory on Wednesday with the apparent passage of a measure that will allow it to develop 770 acres currently home to an abandoned Navy shipyard and Candlestick Point in San Francisco.
The measure, Proposition G, authorizes the land-use provisions needed to construct up to 10,000 homes at the two sites plus space for retail, offices and more than 300 acres of park and open space, and rescinds the city's obligation to provide $100 million in bond funding for a new football stadium.
The Miami-based developer said 32 percent of the housing will be affordable and that it will donate $27.3 million to residents of the adjacent Bayview-Hunters Point to assist in housing purchases, either in the new development or the existing neighborhood.
Lennar (NYSE: LEN) said it will also provide a site for the construction of a new stadium for the San Francisco 49ers at Hunters Point, if they choose to remain in the city.
Proposition G was challenged by Proposition F, which required 50 percent of Hunters Point housing to be affordable. Supporters argued that the Lennar development would rapidly gentrify the area, forcing many residents to move when they became unable to keep abreast of rising costs.
Lennar argued that the requirement would make the project economically infeasible.
"After 10 years of being a part of the Bayview community, we want to thank the city and the residents of San Francisco for the vote of confidence they have given us tonight to carry forth their vision for the Bayview-Hunters Point," Lennar Chief Investment Officer Emile Haddad said in a news release.
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