Mission Bay is a 303-acre (1.23 km2) neighborhood on the central bayshore of San Francisco, roughly bounded by Townsend Street on the north, Third Street and San Francisco Bay on the east, Mariposa Street on the south, and 7th Street and Interstate 280 on the west. It was created in 1998 by the Board of Supervisors as a redevelopment project. Much of the land was long a railyard of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, and transferred to Catellus Development Corporation when it was spun off as part of the aborted merger of Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe Railway.
Catellus subsequently sold or sub-contracted several parcels to other developers. It has rapidly evolved in to a wealthy neighborhood of luxury condominiums, high-end restaurants and retail, and biotechnology research and development.