As development in Mission Bay continues to transform The City’s eastern waterfront, residents of the Dogpatch neighborhood have banded together to try to save a piece of the area’s history.
The Bluepeter Building, a former ship chandlery located at 555 Illinois St., is on the northern corner of a site designated as a park in the Mission Bay redevelopment plan.
A map of the redevelopment project, which calls for open space, shows a plan for the park in the southern section. The map, however, makes no provision for a structure on the site.
The plan is also vacant of a building or facility for residents to gather for meetings and community events, and now a neighborhood association wants to prevent the building from being torn down.
“There is no enclosed structure for any kind of recreation and community use,” said Janet Carpinelli, vice president of the Dogpatch Neighborhood Association. “And the one already there is going to be torn down.”
The Bluepeter Building was constructed in the 1940s and was last used 10 years ago, according to Carpinelli. Today, its doors and windows are shuttered and outside walls are covered with graffiti.
While it does not qualify as a national or historic landmark, Carpinelli and her neighbors hope the building will contribute character and history from the thriving shipyards that were once the heart of the area.
“[The] Mission Bay [project] is so cold,” she said. “It needs a little soul. This is part of the soul.”
Carpinelli hopes preservation of the Bluepeter Building can complement work being done on Pier 70 across the street to maintain the area’s history.
Pier 70 was an important part of the shipping industry in the Western U.S. and is said to have been built around the time of the
Gold Rush.
The Dogpatch Neighborhood Association has met with project managers regarding the matter, Carpinelli said. The Bluepeter Building would not have to go through the lengthy landmark recognition process, which would make it relatively easy to be converted into a meeting or recreation space, she said.
The Mission Bay redevelopment project was approved 10 years ago to include 6,000 new housing units, 6 million square feet of office and life-science and technology space. The plan also includes shops and restaurants, parks and open space, a hotel, a new school, a library, and fire and police stations, to be built during the next 20 years.
