Commission hears expansive Hunters Point/Candlestick community‑benefits update; residents press childcare and compliance gaps

OCII staff and representatives from Lennar Urban presented a comprehensive update Nov. 17 on community benefits associated with Hunters Point Shipyard Phase 1 and Candlestick Point Phase 2. The workshop drew extended public comment from local residents, childcare providers and community organizations urging that redevelopment planning do more to protect existing services and improve contract and workforce access for Bayview Hunters Point residents.

Tamsen Drew, OCII senior project manager for the shipyard and Candlestick projects, summarized the Phase 1 and Phase 2 disposition and development agreements (DDAs). Drew said Phase 1 includes about 1,600 units (roughly 27 percent affordable) and 26 acres of open space; combined Phase 1 and 2 development would total roughly 10,500 housing units, a third affordable, and include office and retail space. She described a private core community benefits agreement between Lennar Urban and the Alliance for District 10 that is separate from OCII’s monitoring but that shaped some housing and workforce commitments.

Drew reviewed required community programs and OCII’s assessment of compliance. She said Lennar had achieved an overall small‑business enterprise (SBE) participation rate above the program goal (54.2 percent) but that only 16.2 percent of contract dollars had gone to Bayview Hunters Point SBEs. OCII staff reported a shortfall on a $225,000‑per‑year job‑training contribution and said the developer had provided about $1.8 million of an approximately $2.25 million obligation, and had committed to accelerate expenditures to reach compliance by 2018.

On the Small Business Assistance Program, OCII staff said a directory of local suppliers exists but is not shared with all consultants; contract language requiring consultants and contractors to purchase at least 20 percent of project‑related purchases from BVHP small businesses is not tracked or required in practice. Staff described a corrective action plan that includes sharing the directory broadly, increasing networking events to quarterly, and closer contract‑compliance monitoring.

Public commenters focused heavily on childcare. Gladys Harris, co‑founder and executive director of Frandelgia (Friendelgia) Richmond Center, said the center faces the loss of a playground and possibly its facility as redevelopment proceeds; parents and staff stressed the lack of any committed replacement childcare site in developer plans and urged that childcare be included in Alice Griffith and phase‑2 planning. OCII staff said they and Lennar had been meeting with Frandelgia and HOPE SF teams and would continue to search for a permanent Candlestick location; the Citizens Advisory Committee said it would fold the group into its housing subcommittee.

Other speakers — CAP operators, lenders and contractor advocates — described hundreds of workshops, pre‑bid meetings and counseling sessions to help local contractors bid and mobilize, but noted the mobilization fund seeded by Lennar (about $250,000) capped loans at $50,000 per recipient and remains too small for many firms. LaShawn Walker of Lennar Urban said the company is seeking matching funds to scale the mobilization fund and to increase outreach frequency.

Commissioners asked to be included in negotiations over the use of community‑facility lots and requested expanded outreach on the certificate of preference and homebuyer readiness. OCII staff said they would provide additional reports and that the Legacy Foundation would present recommendations on Community Benefits Fund spending in early 2016.