Treasure Island (California)

Treasure Island (California)

Coordinates: 37°49′N 122°22′W / 37.82°N 122.37°W / 37.82; -122.37

Treasure Island is an artificial island in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland, and an emerging neighborhood of San Francisco. The island is entirely within the City and County of San Francisco, whose territory extends far into San Francisco Bay and includes a tip of Alameda Island. Treasure Island is connected by a small isthmus to Yerba Buena Island. According to the United States Census Bureau, Yerba Buena Island and Treasure Island together have a land area of 2.334 km2 (0.901 sq mi) with a total population of 2,500 as of the 2010 census. The island is named after the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, who lived in San Francisco from 1879 to 1880.

Treasure Island was created in 1936 and 1937, from fill dredged from the bay, for the Golden Gate International Exposition. The island is now a California Historical Landmark, honoring the site of the exposition. The 535-acre (2.17 km2) man-made island then used to be owned by the U.S. Navy, but was later sold to the city of San Francisco for $108 million as part of a redevelopment project. On June 8, 2011, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a 19,000 person new neighborhood to be developed on it over the next 20–30 years by Wilson Meany Sullivan, Lennar Urban, and Kenwood Investments.

The island is set to begin a $1.5 billion redevelopment project in 2012 called the Treasure Island Development. The project plan will add up to 8,000 new residences, 140,000 square feet new commercial and retail space, 100,000 square feet new office space, 3 Hotels, and 300 acres of parks.