Today Mayor Edwin M. Lee joined Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to announce a federal $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to improve transportation infrastructure in the City’s Mission Bay neighborhood.

The funding, called Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER), will support the Mission Bay/UCSF Hospital Multimodal Transportation Project by completing the remaining backbone transportation infrastructure necessary to support the dynamic Mission Bay community, representing $9 billion in combined investment from the State, the City and the private sector. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and San Francisco Building Trades joined the announcement.

“San Francisco’s dynamic Mission Bay neighborhood has become an international model for sustainable, transit-oriented development and a hub of innovation and job growth,” said Mayor Lee. “The TIGER grant award for Mission Bay speaks to the power of public-private partnerships. I am grateful to President Obama, Leader Pelosi, Secretary LaHood, Lieutenant Governor Newsom and our partners for making this project a success.”

Mission Bay is transforming from a blighted, abandoned rail-yard to a mixed-use, transit-oriented innovation center and thriving neighborhood. TIGER funds will complete the street grid, build pedestrian and bicycle facilities, improve the highway off-ramp and construct a short-run loop for the light rail that will enable SFMTA to double service to the area.

“San Francisco has always led the way in infrastructure investments that grow our economy and spur prosperity for local communities,” said Leader Pelosi. “This $10 million commitment for transportation at Mission Bay builds on that record: to create jobs in our city and serve as a model for sustainable development nationwide. I was proud to advocate on behalf of this worthy project and applaud Secretary LaHood for his continued commitment to rebuilding America.”

“President Obama’s support for an America built to last is putting people back to work across the country building roads, bridges and other projects that will mean better, safer transportation for generations to come,” said Transportation Secretary LaHood. “TIGER projects mean good transportation jobs today and a stronger economic future for the nation.”
“Mission Bay is revitalizing an entire sector of San Francisco and creating jobs. The TIGER grant for this project will build on state and local investment to support this important infrastructure,” said Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. “Transit-oriented development surrounding the biotech, medical and educational uses which serve as the core of this growing community provides a model for creating a vibrant and sustainable future for California.”

Mission Bay is an economic engine crucial to the region and state which, at full build-out, will be home to a projected 30,000 jobs in critical fields like healthcare, biotech and education. The Mission Bay/UCSF Hospital Multimodal Transportation Infrastructure project is shovel ready, with permits in hand and preparatory work underway, insuring that these funds will be leveraged immediately. Mission Bay includes a 43-acre UCSF research campus and state-of-the-art UCSF hospital serving children, women and cancer patients, now under construction. More than 40 private biotechnology companies – including Bayer, Fibrogen and Nektar – have moved to Mission Bay. The result is a booming economic cluster of statewide and nationwide significance, focused on innovative life science research and development.