San Franciscans celebrated "Post to Park Week" on October 1-8, 1994 after the National Park Service (NPS) cleared the final hurdle to redevelop the Presidio of San Francisco as the "jewel" of the National Park System.

Release of the final Presidio urban park plan on August 23 was facilitated by the August 9 completion of a joint use agreement with the Army (required when 1988 decisions to close the defense position at the Presidio were reversed in 1993). After a 30-day waiting period required by the National Environmental Policy Act and NPS guidelines, a record of decision officially transferred one of the nation's most historic military bases from the Army to the NPS, effective October 1, 1994.

According to Steve Kasierski, Program Officer with NPS' Presidio Planning Team, continued Army reliance on the Presidio gives NPS a "major tenant" (1 million square feet of building space) and will reduce annual expenditures to NPS by the equivalent of $13 million during the early stages of the park's development into a great urban park, foremost example of productive base reuse, and model of sustainability.

The entire Presidio is designated as a National Historic Landmark. Of the existing 870 structures, 510 are historic and 276 are to be removed to create open space. The NPS plans to increase open space by 25% by 2010, including increasing native plant communities from 145 to 245 acres-21 threatened or endangered species exist- and restoring 300 acres as part of the cultural landscape.

Don Neuebacher, with NPS' Presidio Planning Team, said implementation will begin with a project by the TIDES Foundation, a private managing partner which is developing a 73,000-square-foot, $6-8 million destination for independent tenants-the Thoreau Center for Sustainability. Also this year, the original buildings at Chrissy Field (the historic air field named after Army aviator Walter Crissy) will be preserved and other buildings removed to create open space and spectacular waterfront views along the NPS-managed shoreline and Golden Gate Promenade.

Other plans for the urban "jewel" of the National Park System include an international center for research and education on environmental and cultural issues.