Presidio on Schedule to be "First Self-Sustaining National Park"

According to a residential leasing site, the Presidio features 21 distinctive neighborhoods. The Baker Beach neighborhood, across the street from the Pacific Ocean and coastal bluffs, was constructed in 1953. The refurbished military housing here is 4, 6 and 8-plex apartment structures with 2, 3 and 4-bedroom units. A minimum monthly rate for 3-bedroom, 1-bath unit (840 sq. ft.) is $2,025.

In 1846, the Presidio in San Francisco became a U.S. Army post. In 1994, the Presidio was transferred to the National Park Service as the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The Presidio is a National Historic Landmark, with 470 structures classified "historic." It also has 300 acres of forests.

In 1996, Congress created the Presidio Trust to preserve the former Army base facility at the footsteps of the Golden Gate Bridge, and to make the Presidio the first self-sustaining national park by 2013.

To do that, all that old Army housing needed to be overhauled and occupied with civilians. In 1996, residential tenants began moving in.

To date, 1,072 of the former Army housing units have been overhauled. Ninety-five percent of the housing administered by the Presidio Trust is occupied, and 85 percent of the commercial space leased.

Homeless advocates envisioned a lot of the refurbish housing going to put a roof over the heads of homeless people, a population that abounds in the heart of the city. Eighteen percent of the residential housing is earmarked for lower-income residents, but to quality, they must work in the Presidio. The park housing has mostly gone to mid to high-income residents. One home of a former general costs $25,000 a month.

The Trust reportedly has revenues of $90 million each year: $40 million in residential rents, $20 million in commercial rents, and $20 million from federal appropriations.