Potrero Hill, San Francisco

In an effort to create a greener and cleaner Central Waterfront neighborhood, the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association (DNA), Neighborhood Parks Council (NPC), the Mayor’s Office of City Greening, and Martin Building Company (MBC) are launching San Francisco’s first-ever neighborhood-based greening fund, the GreenTrust. Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Sophie Maxwell will be joining the sponsors at an official kick-off event on Thursday, January 19 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm at 2255 Third Street (between 19th and 20th Streets).

The event will provide an opportunity to meet neighbors, share ideas and learn about the potential benefits of this new approach to “bottom-up” planning. NPC and Plant SF will also present examples of “Best Practices” from similar neighborhood-based greening efforts elsewhere. Food and drinks will be served.

The GreenTrust concept was born out of discussions between members of the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association, Supervisor Maxwell and Martin Building Company, which has proposed building a new 183-unit mixed-use residential project adjacent to the new 20th Street station on the 3rd Street Light Rail line. Because work on the Central Waterfront Plan is still unfinished, neighbors were concerned about the long-term impacts of approving new housing on a project-by-project basis without having a neighborhood-scale plan for improving green space. Responding to neighbors’ concerns, Martin Building Company took the initiative to help organize and provide start-up financing for the GreenTrust. The first actions of the newly minted trust will be to hire a professional open-space planner to conduct focused community outreach and begin crafting a strategic “Greening Blueprint” for the greater Central Waterfront Plan area.

Envisioned as a miniature version of New York’s Central Park Trust, the goal of the GreenTrust is to pool local developer contributions and leverage additional private and public money to better maintain existing open space and fund small-scale interventions, such as transforming portions of sidewalks and paved medians into green spaces. The GreenTrust will be managed by a board of directors comprised of neighborhood residents, non-profits like the NPC, small business owners, and a handful of developers who have contributed to the fund.

“The GreenTrust is a rare example of developer and neighborhood collaboration,” said Susan Eslick, President of the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association. “We hope this exciting pilot project will serve as an example for other neighborhoods in the City.”

More information on Martin Building Company’s proposed 2235 Third Street project will be provided at the January 19th kick-off event.

About Dogpatch Neighborhood Association
Dogpatch, a diverse neighborhood in the flats on the eastern edge of Potrero Hill, was recognized as a Historic District by the city of San Francisco in 2003. Dogpatch includes the city’s largest collection of 19th and early 20th Century workers cottages.

The Dogpatch Neighborhood Association is a group of residents and businesses actively involved in a range of critical issues that impact the community – including historic preservation, long-range urban planning, neighborhood improvement, public safety, environmental and health issues, transportation, parking and traffic, and acquisition and improvement of public open space. It works in conjunction with other community groups and City agencies, including the San Francisco Planning Department, the Port, MUNI, DPT, San Francisco Architectural Heritage, the Police Department, and City Hall.

About Neighborhood Parks Council
The Neighborhood Parks Council (NPC) is a coalition of community-based park groups actively involved in improving neighborhood parks throughout San Francisco. Since 1996, NPC has grown to include 120+ park groups and 4,000 park volunteers, establishing itself as San Francisco’s premier park advocacy group.

NPC strives to increase public and private support for, and commitment to, the restoration and improved maintenance of San Francisco’s neighborhood parks, playgrounds, and recreation facilities. www.sfneighborhoodparks.org

About Martin Building Company
Founded in 1989, Martin Building Company is a San Francisco based design and development firm that specializes in historic preservation, adaptive reuse and brownfield development.

Martin Building Company’s experience includes single-family residential, multi-unit residential, commercial office buildings, restaurants, multi-building urban developments, adaptive reuse projects, and historic renovations. www.martinbuilding.com

For more information on the GreenTrust, email info@greentrustsf.org.