Mission Bay is a neighborhood on the east side of San Francisco, California. It is bordered by China Basin to the north, Dogpatch to the south, and San Francisco Bay to the east. Originally an industrial district built on reclaimed land, it was transformed beginning in the late 1990s through the creation of the UCSF Mission Bay campus and large-scale mixed-use development. Mission Bay is now a major center for biotechnology, research, sports, and corporate offices, home to the Chase Center arena, Uber Technologiesâ global headquarters, Visa Inc.âÂÂs headquarters at the Mission Rock development, and OpenAIâÂÂs offices. The neighborhood also features new waterfront parks including China Basin Park and Bayfront Park, along with a growing residential community of condominiums and apartments.
Mission Bay is bounded by Townsend Street on the north, Third Street and San Francisco Bay on the east, Mariposa Street on the south, and 7th Street and Interstate 280 on the west.
Before urbanization, the water body Mission Bay was nestled inside of a +500 acre salt marsh and lagoon, and was occupied by year-round tidal waters. This area was a natural habitat and refuge for large water fowl populations that included ducks, geese, herons, egrets, ospreys and gulls. The Native American tribes who resided in this area were the Costanoan people who spoke eight different languages which delineated between the various tribelets. The tribe most prevalent in the Bay area was the Patwin people who resided in the area for over 5,000 years.
Beginning in the mid-1800s, Mission Bay was used as a convenient place to deposit refuse from building projects. It was later used as a dumping ground for debris from the 1906 earthquake. As the marsh stabilized with the weight of the infill, the area quickly became an industrial district. By 1850, the area was used for shipbuilding and repair, butchery and meat production, and oyster and clam fishing. With the addition of the railroad, Mission Bay became the home to shipyards, canneries, a sugar refinery and various warehouses.
In 1998, the area was announced by the Board of Supervisors as a redevelopment project through the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. Much of the land had long been a railyard of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, and was transferred to Catellus Development Corporation when it was spun off as part of the aborted merger of Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe Railway. Catellus subsequently sold or sub-contracted several parcels to other developers. Another large parcel was the H&H Ship Service Facility of the Port of San Francisco, a toxic and hazardous materials site that had been ordered closed under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. It has rapidly evolved into a wealthy neighborhood of luxury condominiums, hospitals, and biotechnology research and development. From 2010 to 2020, Mission Bay's population increased by over 200%.
Mission Bay was the original headquarters of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine prior to the organization's move to Oakland. It is home to several major corporate headquarters and offices, including Uber Technologiesâ global headquarters at 1725 Third Street adjacent to the Chase Center, Visa Inc.âÂÂs new global headquarters at 300 Toni Stone Crossing within the Mission Rock development, and OpenAIâÂÂs offices, which occupy part of UberâÂÂs former Mission Bay campus at 1455 Third Street.
The Chase Center, which opened in 2019, serves as the home arena for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association and the Golden State Valkyries of the WNBA.
Mission Bay is served by the N Judah and T Third Street lines of San Francisco's Muni Metro. The N Judah links the neighborhood to Downtown, BART, Hayes Valley and the Sunset District, and the T Third Street links to downtown, BART, and the Bayview and Visitacion Valley neighborhoods. Several other Muni bus and trolley bus lines link the area to neighborhoods to the north, west and south. The Caltrain commuter rail system connects Mission Bay with San Jose and Gilroy. The Central Subway project linking Mission Bay to San Francisco Downtown and Chinatown opened in November 2022.
Although near to and often associated with Oracle Park, the ballpark is in the adjacent South Beach neighborhood. UCSF has built a new 289-bed hospital serving children, women, and cancer patients which opened in February 2015. Construction of the hospital began in October 2010.
Mission Bay has a large residential component with approximately 6,404 apartments and/or condos planned (1,806 of them to be designated affordable).
Other notable buildings in Mission Bay include The Gladstone Institute and the Mission Bay medical offices of Kaiser Permanente.
Mission Bay Parks completed as of fall 2010 include Mission Creek Park, Mission Bay Commons lots on Mission Bay Boulevard between the Radiance and Nektar/Bayer buildings, the 5th Street Plaza, the sports courts, Koret Quad, and early phases of China Basin Park. The park network has since expanded with Bayfront Park, a waterfront green space along Terry A. Francois Boulevard near Chase Center, and a new two- to five-acre China Basin Park at the edge of the Mission Rock development, which opened in 2024. These parks, operated by the Port of San Francisco, form part of the Blue Greenway and the larger Mission Bay Parks system that connects the neighborhoodâÂÂs open spaces to the waterfront.
Planning has also begun to convert several interim-use parcels in Mission Bay Commons (Parcels P12, P13, and P15)âÂÂwhich currently house amenities such as SPARK Social SF, Parklab Gardens/Stagecoach Greens mini-golf, community gardens, and a soccer/fitness fieldâÂÂinto more permanent and integrated open spaces extending the Commons westward. The Mission Bay Future Parks Project, led by OCII, Mission Bay Development Group, and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, envisions renovating and unifying these parcels to match the character of existing Commons blocks and improve public access along the neighborhoodâÂÂs western edge.
The University of California, San Francisco opened its Mission Bay campus in 2015.
Construction of the Mission Bay School, the neighborhood's first public school, is scheduled for completion in 2025.