Hayes Green

Funding for the project is being managed through the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development working with the Real Estate Department. It began in 2001 when the state transferred to the city ownership of 22 Central Freeway parcels of land on Octavia from Market Street north to Turk Street, on which new housing could be built. Sale of the parcels is paying for the new Octavia Boulevard and Hayes Green. MOED director Rich Hillis says that some parcels have been sold to the Redevelopment Agency to create affordable housing and he estimates that sales will total some $30 million dollars and result in 700-800 units of “much-needed housing.”

Hayes Green opened in synchrony with the 2005 United Nations World Environment Day “Green Cities” conference, June 1-5. The Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association, Hayes Valley Business Association and Neighborhood Parks Council hosted a Mayor’s breakfast for Mayor Gavin Newsom, former mayors Art Agnos, Frank Jordan, and Willie Brown, Dianne Feinstein, and delegates from around the world. On the table, along with coffee and Danish, was the discussion and development of a set of Urban Environmental Accords that would provide a roadmap for improvement of life in their cities. “This conference is a remarkable opportunity for all of us to establish guideline for environmentally sensible urban life,” Newsom said.
--Jeanne Alexander