If you walk the Marina Green toward Fort Mason, you have probably noticed that the southern half of the East Harbor holds fewer boats every year. Why would a harbor empty out years before any construction crew shows up?
Gashouse Cove sits where a 19th-century power plant once stood. PG&E is cleaning up the contaminated harbor sediment under a legal settlement with the city, and that cleanup is driving the whole Marina Improvement and Remediation Project, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The renderings show a five-acre park with a community dock. The schedule, the budget and the layout all follow from the cleanup. That is why the water changed first, and why the new shoreline is still years away.
Why the slips emptied before anything was built
Most boats in the southern East Harbor have already moved to open slips in the northern part of the harbor or scattered elsewhere, and many of the old wooden piers have been taken out, the Chronicle reported in April. Those slips are not coming back. The shallow basin near shore is set to become a community dock and launch area for kayaks, paddleboards and other boats without motors.
The current plan is the second version. The first one would have added about 185 slips in the West Harbor and blocked views from Marina Boulevard. After months of protests from residents, the Board of Supervisors scrapped that plan in February 2024. The ordinance it passed limits how far the West Harbor can expand, and the Rec and Park staff report says the revised design has 170 fewer slips than the October 2023 proposal for that reason. Under the new plan, the extra slips go north of the East Harbor breakwater, and nothing blocks the view from Marina Boulevard.
The mix of slips is changing too. The staff report shifts some berths from 20 to 25 feet up to 30 to 35 feet, the sizes in highest demand at Bay Area marinas, and adds side-tie space for smaller boats. The harbor that comes back will hold bigger boats on average.
The bill explains the order of operations
The financing shows most clearly why the cleanup leads. The April staff report puts the project at $190 million. PG&E pays $160.6 million of it up front. Rec and Park owes $29.4 million, paid back over 30 years at zero interest and only from Marina revenue, with no repayment until all the work is done and the Marina is earning again.
That setup explains a lot. The utility responsible for the contamination carries most of the cost. The city pays its share later, out of slip fees from a rebuilt harbor. The staff report also says the department studied regional slip sizes and expected occupancy so the Marina could pay for itself. So the park, the bigger berths and the cleanup are one financial package. The East Harbor cannot be rebuilt until PG&E has finished underwater.
What the design puts on the shore
On April 16, 2026, the Recreation and Park Commission voted unanimously to approve the conceptual design, and the Chronicle ran a Field Operations rendering of the park looking toward the Golden Gate. Commission chair Kat Anderson put the goal in a single sentence, as quoted by the Chronicle:
"This is going to be a beautiful waterfront recreational area, and I can't wait to get my paddleboard in the water there."
The plan for the area east of the Marina Green includes:
- A community dock and water access for kayaks and other boats without motors, in the shallow basin where the southern slips used to be
- A wider shoreline and Bay Trail improvements, with space for nature exploration and a small plaza
- Beach volleyball courts and a picnic area
- New planting, irrigation, lighting and furnishings
- Better public restrooms, plus a restroom just for boaters
The Bay Trail work links this corner of the Marina to the 356-mile trail around San Francisco Bay, the San Francisco Examiner noted in its coverage of the vote.
The one piece still being argued: the fuel dock
The Gashouse Cove fuel dock has been part of the East Harbor for generations. It is one of the few public fuel docks in San Francisco. The plan moves it to the West Harbor near the St. Francis Yacht Club, and as of the April reporting the new site had not been chosen. Project manager Monica Scott told the Examiner that Rec and Park is working with the Port of San Francisco and others to find a spot that can supply both gasoline and diesel.
Chrissy Kaplan, who has run the dock for more than 50 years, told commissioners that it has fueled fireboats during emergencies, and she objected to the design, the Chronicle reported. Anderson replied that fuel service would not stop during construction.
The San Francisco Sea Scouts teach young people to sail, row and kayak, and they use the dock as well. Tamara Sokolov, a program leader, told the Examiner that if the station is decommissioned, the next-closest fuel is at Richardson Bay in Sausalito. She said the trip could mean fewer training sessions and fewer safety boats out with sailboats and kayaks.
In June, Latitude 38 reported that the Harbor Safety Committee was sending a letter to the Bay Conservation and Development Commission arguing that closing the dock is not required by the Water Board. Citing Water Board staff, the letter said the area around the fuel dock is not being dredged under the current plans. The same piece showed Supervisor Stephen Sherrill visiting the Sea Scouts at the fuel dock. The dispute matters well beyond recreational boating, because police boats, fireboats, Coast Guard boats and bar pilots all depend on fuel along the city's waterfront.
The calendar, as it stands
The cleanup is the reason for the project, and it also controls the pace. The most recent milestones have come from water regulators, not from park planners.
| Milestone | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Supervisors scrap the original West Harbor slip plan | February 2024 | SF Chronicle |
| Rec and Park Commission approves conceptual design | April 16, 2026 | Rec and Park staff report |
| PG&E East Harbor sediment-sampling permit takes effect | September 24, 2026 | State Water Board record |
| Water quality certification for the project takes effect | October 7, 2026 | State Water Board record |
| Bid and contract award, as scheduled | Late 2026 | Rec and Park staff report |
| West Harbor breakwater and park work expected to begin | Mid-2027 | SF Examiner |
| East Harbor marina work expected to begin, after remediation | Mid-2028 | SF Examiner |
The September permit covers sediment sampling, which is the step before the cleanup itself. The October certification, which names Rec and Park as the project owner, is the latest sign that permitting is moving. The staff report plans three years of construction starting in mid-2027. East Harbor work waits for remediation, so the shore by Gashouse Cove will likely be one of the last parts to change.
What changes on your walk, and when
The work starts at the other end of the waterfront. The first construction is planned for the West Harbor, near the St. Francis Yacht Club, in mid-2027. That is also the area where the fuel dock is supposed to move. On the water, Latitude 38 reported in June that the West Harbor fairway had reopened after a long closure.
The emptied southern basin of the East Harbor will most likely stay much as it is until remediation is done and East Harbor work begins, expected in mid-2028. The fuel dock is still operating, and the commission chair has said service will continue through construction. The open questions are where it goes and when, and BCDC is one of the agencies that will weigh in.
Three milestones will show how fast all this moves. The first is whether the late-2026 bid and award happens on schedule. The second is where the West Harbor fuel dock ends up. The third is when PG&E's sampling turns into actual cleanup in the East Harbor. Until those happen, a quieter Gashouse Cove is a sign that the cleanup is moving forward, not a sign that a park is about to open.
If you own a home near the Marina waterfront and want to understand how the Gashouse Cove timeline fits with your own plans for the next few years, Meagan Levitan is happy to talk it through in confidence. Request a Confidential Home Valuation, and we can start with the parts of the waterfront that will change first.
