Situated between San Francisco, Daly City and South San Francisco along Highway 101 is the site of a planned massive development — with 2,200 homes, 6.5 million square feet of commercial office, 500,000 square feet of hotel space and 157 acres of green space. Although the project in Brisbane is set for a vote of its city council likely sometime in 2026, it has been in the works since 2005.
The proposed development, dubbed Brisbane Baylands, could triple the population of the city of 4,800, which earned the nickname the “City of Stars” for its tradition of displaying wood-frame stars atop homes and businesses during the holidays.
“The Baylands is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take one of the largest brownfield sites in Northern California and turn it into a thriving, sustainable place for people to live, work, and play,” said Greg Vilkin, a representative of Baylands Development Inc., the entity responsible for the development and entitlement of the Baylands project, in a prepared statement. The property is owned by Sunquest Properties Inc.
“A transformative project like this is a huge responsibility, and we’re grateful to the city of Brisbane for dedicating years of work to get us to this point,” Vilkin said.
The 558.3-acre area was largely shallow San Francisco Bay waters through the 1800s, then the western half of the area was filled beginning in the early 1900s for development of a railyard, according to the Baylands Specific Plan. The eastern half was filled for use as San Francisco’s municipal landfill.
Both the railyard and landfill shut down in the 1960s. Still, extensive — and costly — remediation of the land is required for development. Brownfields are properties where expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.