Inside San Francisco’s unsuspecting island paradise for young people with five-star restaurants and cheap homes

A small, man-made island with a troubled past off the coast of San Francisco is becoming a hub for young people as housing developments, community events and trendy businesses gain a foothold there.

Treasure Island, which was built for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition before serving as a naval base until 1997, is drawing young people with five-star restaurants, mixed housing, and events such as the viral Cake Picnic as the city grapples with an exodus of young adults in their 20s. 

The 400-acre island was once a neglected part of the city, and it still has one of the highest rates of poverty out of any San Francisco neighborhood, at around 23 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey.

But a mix of affordable and luxury housing, expanded public transit infrastructure and trendy businesses, all constructed over the past decade or so, have turned the once-run-down area into a promising neighborhood drawing billions of dollars in investment.

Investors are also encouraged by the influx of young people, as 61 percent of Treasure Island’s 2,800 residents are aged 18 to 44. The neighborhood’s median age of 30 is 11 years younger than the rest of the city. 

Developers intend to build 7,000 more homes on the island over the next two decades, which would cause the population to increase almost tenfold to 20,000 and create a new skyline in the Bay. 

The Treasure Island Master Plan by SOM, an urban planning company, promises to create ‘a diverse community with access to unprecedented open space, resource-conserving technologies, and a robust network of transportation options.’ 

That would include retail spaces, a 400-ship marina, 500 hotel rooms and 300 acres of parks, all in a walkable neighborhood with easy access to basic necessities. 

Treasure Island (left of the bridge in the water) is 400 acres and was built for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition before serving as a naval base until 1997

MeeSun Boice and Parke Ulrich own Mersea, a five-star restaurant on Treasure Island that was rated the best restaurant in San Francisco by Tripadvisor in six of the past seven years

The viral Cake Picnic event had its first installment on Treasure Island last year, and it was so popular that the event has expanded to other cities such as New York and Los Angeles

The ambitious plan is far from complete, but elements of it have already begun to take hold. 

The island’s first condo development, 490 Avenue of The Palms, began selling units in the Fall. 

Mersea, a casual restaurant opened by a former tech marketer in 2018, has been rated San Francisco’s best restaurant by Tripadvisor in six of the past seven years.

And community events abound. Sunset Movie Nights allow residents to watch classic films projected on a huge screen outdoors. 

Sunset Happy Hour on the connected Yerba Buena Island offers panoramic views of the Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco’s skyline while patrons sip cocktails at a discount. 

An event called Cake Picnic that had its first installment on Treasure Island in April 2024 was such a hit that it spawned a sequel this year, as well as planned expansion to other cities such as Los Angeles, New York and even London. 

The second installment of the event in March had a whopping 1,387 cakes on display. 

There was once just a single bus route to get on and off the island, but now, a ferry making the eight-minute trip from Treasure Island to San Francisco’s downtown departs every 15 minutes during peak hours. 

Other events abound on the island, such as Sunset Movie Nights, which allow residents to watch classic films projected on a huge screen outdoors

Sunset Happy Hour on the connected Yerba Buena Island offers panoramic views of the Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco’s skyline while patrons sip cocktails at a discount

The once-neglected island is now drawing billions in investment. This architectural rendering shows the planned layout

The island is clearly on the upswing, but it remains to be seen if it can maintain its momentum. 

Developers have to factor in the unstable soil of the man-made island, which was constructed out of mud and sand in the early 20th century, when carrying out their grand designs. 

Rising sea levels also pose a threat, and areas of the island are still irradiated from the Navy’s decades of activity there. 

The Treasure Island Master Plan was also approved all the way back in 2011, and after three years of litigation delaying construction, much of the work has gone to armoring the shoreline as well as designing and implementing stormwater drainage systems. 

There is also growing tension between Treasure Island’s legacy population of poorer residents and the new class of young tech professionals buying up sprouting luxury units. 

The former naval station was converted into housing after San Francisco began leasing it in the late 90s, and the 1,800 residents living there are currently in a state of limbo as their homes are set to be demolished to make way for new developments.

This detailed architectural rendering shows planned glittering high rises that would create a new skyline in the Bay

It remains to be seen if the ambitious plans for Treasure Island come to fruition, as the Treasure Island Master Plan was approved more than a decade ago, and progress has been incremental

They will be offered new housing at the same rent they currently pay, or they will be able to accept an $8,000 check to move elsewhere. 

Some longtime residents believe gentrification is erasing the identity of Treasure Island.

And although the neighborhood has the highest percentage of young adult residents in San Francisco, it only has 300 people under 18, because there hasn’t been a school there for 21 years. 

But if all goes to plan and developers faithfully achieve their promises, Treasure Island could become one of San Francisco’s most attractive neighborhoods for young people and their families.