Parkmerced, San Francisco facts for kids
Parkmerced is a large neighborhood located in San Francisco, California. It was planned and built in the early 1940s by architects Leonard Schultze and Thomas Dolliver Church. Parkmerced is special because it's the second-largest neighborhood of apartment buildings west of the Mississippi River that's owned by just one company. Only Park La Brea in Los Angeles is bigger.
This neighborhood was designed to be a complete community with tall apartment towers and smaller garden apartments. It was made for families and people with average incomes. Today, Parkmerced has 3,221 homes and more than 9,000 people living there. It's one of only four big, privately owned garden apartment complexes left in the United States. You can find it south of San Francisco State University (SFSU), west of 19th Avenue, and east of Lake Merced and the Harding Park Golf Club. Many students and teachers from SFSU like living here because it's so close to the university.
In 2005, the entire property was sold for about $687 million. This shows how valuable and important this large community is.
Contents
Parkmerced: Design and History
How Parkmerced Was Designed
The apartment towers in Parkmerced were designed by Leonard Schultze and his team. They worked closely with a famous landscape architect named Thomas Dolliver Church. Church was known for working with modern architects. He helped create the unique look of Parkmerced's courtyards, streets, and open spaces like Robert Pender Park.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company built Parkmerced. They had already built a successful community called Parkchester in New York City. Building Parkmerced started in 1939, but it slowed down because of World War II. The first residents moved into some of the buildings in 1944. The whole neighborhood was finished in the early 1950s. It became a first home for many military families returning from the Second World War and the Korean War.
Metropolitan Life built similar apartment communities in other big cities. These include Park La Brea in Los Angeles and Parkfairfax in Virginia. They also built Riverton Houses, Parkchester, and Stuyvesant Town—Peter Cooper Village in Manhattan.
Changes Over the Years
Metlife owned and took great care of Parkmerced until the early 1970s. After that, the property changed owners several times. Some parts of the development were sold off, including some blocks to San Francisco State University.
As of 2008, a single investor owned most of Parkmerced. They bought the property for $687 million. They also promised to spend $110 million on upgrades. For a while in the early 2000s, the property was called The Villas Parkmerced. However, by 2009, it went back to its original name, Parkmerced.
Getting Around Parkmerced: Transportation
Getting around Parkmerced is easy thanks to public transportation. The San Francisco Municipal Railway provides bus service through the neighborhood with the 57 Parkmerced route. Other bus routes, like the 18, 28, 28R, and 29, also run nearby. The Muni Metro M Ocean View light-rail line also operates along 19th Avenue, making it simple to travel to other parts of San Francisco.
Parkmerced: Future Plans and Development
Current Upgrades and Improvements
Parkmerced is currently undergoing many updates and improvements. Workers are replacing old elevators and remodeling the entrances to the tall towers. They are also adding wooden window frames and other details to the garden townhomes. The landscaping is being updated, and new mailboxes are being installed. All the buildings are also getting fresh paint.
The neighborhood even has its own Saturday morning Farmer's Market. This market takes place on the western meadow, offering fresh produce to residents. Inside the vacant apartments, major renovations are happening. These include new stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and wooden cabinets. The development team is focusing on making these changes in a way that is good for the environment.
Big Plans for the Future
In 2010, the owners of Parkmerced suggested a big redevelopment plan. This plan would involve carefully taking down some of the older garden apartments. In their place, new, taller buildings would be constructed to create more homes. The streets might also be changed to improve traffic flow.
In May 2011, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved this plan. It includes replacing almost all of the low-rise garden apartments with new mid-rise buildings. The plan also promises that tenants who have to move will keep their rent-controlled status. Hundreds of new homes will be built, some for rent and some for sale. The plans also include adding new shops, a grocery store, and a performance center. The M Ocean View metro line might even be rerouted to go directly into Parkmerced. As of early 2023, construction on this major redevelopment had not yet begun. The updated plan for Parkmerced was developed by the famous architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.
