In this solo, on‑camera guide, San Francisco lawyer‑realtor Austin Klar explains how the city has dramatically changed over the past four years and how new waterfront and mixed‑use developments are reshaping its public realm. He highlights five brand‑new parks that exemplify this transformation: the 72‑acre Yerba Buena Island park network (including Panorama Park and the Hood Design Studio‑crafted cypress walkway), the 14‑acre Presidio Tunnel Tops with its High‑Line‑designed playground and Il Parco pizza‑coffee spot, the 7‑acre Crane Cove Park at Pier 70 offering beach access and proximity to the restored RH San Francisco office‑turned‑showroom, the 5‑acre China Basin Park at the Mission Rock development next to Oracle Park and Visa’s headquarters, and the 4.5‑acre Francisco Park on the former reservoir site with gardens, dog park, and bay views. Throughout, Klar interweaves observations about the city’s booming AI and office‑hospitality sectors, the conversion of vacant commercial buildings into housing, and the broader investment in mixed‑use waterfront communities. He closes by inviting viewers to subscribe for more San Francisco lifestyle and real‑estate content and offers his services to prospective buyers navigating the market.
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Perhaps no city in the United States has changed as much over the past 4 years as San Francisco. From one of the top targets in the country for entrepreneurs and forward thinkers to the top target for national news headlines touting the city's crime, homelessness, and record office vacancies, it has undergone a huge shift, and we are at the beginning of another shift. Cutting-edge industries like AI are once again moving en masse into the city. Developers are completely transforming what it means to be at the office, creating very luxurious, beautiful hospitality spaces and updating the life at the office. Vacant commercial buildings are being turned turned into housing, and billions are being invested into mixed-use communities all along the San Francisco waterfront. And one of my favorite developments that comes hand in hand with all that change and all that commercial and residential development are new park spaces. Over the past several years, we've seen a slew of new park spaces open up and continue to be built all across the city, and that's no doubt contributing to San Francisco's place at number 7 on major cities with the best parks. 220 parks and over 4,000 acres of open space. I'm Austin Klar, your lawyer and real estate agent in San Francisco and Marin County. And in this video, I'm gonna break down my 5 favorite brand new parks in San Francisco. Let's get right to it. And the first one on my list is not actually a single park. It's an entire network of parks, 72 acres that are being built on Yerba Buena Island. It's a whole ecosystem of parks, trails, beachfront, bike paths, hiking paths, you name it. And it's all being built in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, right between San Francisco and Oakland on Yerba Buena Island and the adjacent Treasure Island. The development is still years away from being fully completed, but there are several parks that have already opened up at the site. For example, Panorama Park at the very top of Yerba Buena Island opened in spring of 2024. Hood Design Studio, led by Bay Area architect Walter J. Hood, transformed the footprint of a 2 million gallon water tank built into a hillside over 100 years ago into what's now a cypress-filled elevated walkway with these beautiful landscaped areas leading up to the Point of Infinity sculpture and the most insane 360 views of the entire San Francisco Bay. And that's just the start with literally miles of trails connecting the beachfront to the residences on the island, the Private Island Club, which is their amenity space for residents, a dog park, and the rest of the development's 72 acres of open green space. By the way, I did an entire video about all of the development going on at Yerba Buena Island. Go check it out. I'll post it in the description below. It goes over all of the open space that's being created along with the different types of residences that are being built from condos to massive new custom single-family homes. And if you want more videos about new developments or things to do in San Francisco, definitely subscribe to my channel because I make new videos about that stuff every single week. Now back to the parks. The next on my list is the Presidio Tunnel Tops on the outskirts of the Presidio on the north side of San Francisco. The 14-acre park was designed by the same team that did New York City's High Line and offers some of the most beautiful scenery in the city. From Alcatraz to the Golden Gate Bridge, the views are incredible. In addition to all the open space, there's a 2-acre children's playground built from fallen trees and like boulders. And other natural materials. It's a really fun spot. And I think the best amenity of the entire park is this place called Il Parco, a really awesome pizza spot and coffee shop right in the middle of the park. Has outdoor seating, so it's like perfect for taking in the incredible views, especially when the weather's nice. The park is located next to where they host Off the Grid at the Presidio, which is where dozens of food trucks post up. You know, people bring their kids, it's super family friendly, there are dogs running everywhere. Yeah. Lawn games, you name it. Really awesome environment. Again, definitely visit when the weather is nice. Next up is Crane Cove Park, which is part of one of those multi-billion dollar mixed-use spaces being developed along the central waterfront at Pier 70. The 7-acre park in Dogpatch has a beach with bay access, perfect for like kayaking and paddleboarding, or if you're brave enough, just, you know, wading in the water. There are also plenty of green spaces perfect for playing lawn games, running around with your dogs or kids, again, super family friendly. There are also picnic tables and grills for dining, which is great because in my opinion, the weather at the Central Waterfront is some of the best in all of San Francisco. Cranco Park is also immediately next to RH San Francisco, which is a beautifully restored historic office building. They basically turned what was a former steel company's office headquarters into a beautiful furniture showroom. There are rooftops with amazing views, multiple wine bars, a restaurant, and some of the best furnishings you can find. It's also a few minutes walk from the Chase Center, which is where the Golden State Warriors play, and all the restaurants that are being built around there. Awesome area. Next up is China Basin Park, which at the time that I'm filming this video is the newest park in San Francisco. It's part of the Mission Rock mixed-use development being built by the San Francisco Giants and developer Tishman Speyer. It's a 5-acre waterfront park on the east side of the city, just across from Oracle Park, which is where the San Francisco Giants play. There's an open green space with these beautiful cypress trees. They even have shoreline sands along the water's edge, sort of like a, a fake beach. There's also stadium seating in the park. There's a dog run and a ton of open space specifically designed for food trucks and other gatherings. I love how this one turned out, and it's going to get a ton of traction, not just on game days, but at all times. It's steps from two new rental buildings in San Francisco, The Canyon and Verde SF. It's also immediately next to Visa's new headquarters, which was built at the Mission Rock development as well. So I expect a lot of business folks along with residents and tourists to visit this park. It's awesome. The last park on my list is Francisco Park on the northern edge of San Francisco. Formerly the site of the Francisco Reservoir, the property sat unused for decades until the Board of Supervisors handed it over to the Recreation and Parks Department. The park opened in 2022 with 4.5 acres of tiered open soft and hardscape space, all with north-facing views. There's a community garden, an oval lawn, another dog park, playground, a whole network of pathways and trails transversing the tiered park, and you get beautiful views of Alcatraz and the bay. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. Well, there you have it. Those are my favorite new parks in San Francisco, and that doesn't even begin to scrape the surface of the over 200 parks and over 4,000 acres of open space in the city. If you want to learn more about things to do in the city or which neighborhoods are the best places to live to have close access to all those amenities, definitely subscribe to my channel because I make videos about that stuff all the time. And if you're thinking of relocating and maybe having trouble navigating the market or choosing from the 80 different areas to live in San Francisco, definitely reach out to me. My contact info's in the description below and I'd be happy to help. I moved here from Orange County over a decade ago without knowing much of anything about San Francisco, so I know what it's like trying to navigate a very uncertain market. I hope you enjoyed the video and I'll see you in the next one.
