Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Central Waterfront, in a small cove behind one of the largest dry dock facilities in the western seaboard, Crane Cove Park’s site is as unique as it is complicated. The site possesses a rich maritime, industrial and cultural heritage, it has a privileged location for accessing and viewing the bay and the monumental operations of the adjacent shipyard, and it is the largest continuous open space in the Pier 70 historic district.
Site conditions presented tremendous challenges, such as contaminants both in land and water, access obstructions, limited natural habitat-creation capacity, and potential safety hazards. The park design integrates seamlessly with the historic elements of the site and celebrates its maritime heritage by incorporating its multiple stories into the park elements and current activities. Crane Cove Park provides a diversity of activities on land and in water, to attract local and regional visitors.
Shimmick performed Phase 1 of the site renewal. Three buildings were abated of hazardous materials and demolished and the site was cleared of existing concrete slabs and miscellaneous debris. Two historic gantry cranes were disassembled, cleaned and staged for future re-assembly. Foundations within the existing crane runways with 30” diameter CIDH piles were built for future support of the gantry cranes. An embankment for the future extension of 19th street was placed with wick drains and surcharge to settle the underlying compressible layers.
