June Workshop Luncheon

Public Private Partnership: Mission Bay – From Vision to Implementation

Mission Bay’s story begins as a land grant to the railroad, provided as an incentive to bring rail into San Francisco shortly after California entered the Union. Over the following century, the site evolved from reclaimed bay to thriving railyard to neglected industrial land. Its transformation into one of San Francisco’s most dynamic neighborhoods became possible through a bold public-private partnership led by Mayor Willie Brown, whose driving goal was to keep UCSF’s research facilities within the city. Catellus’s development team translated that political will into a vision — and ultimately a reality — of a vibrant mixed-use community built on the former railyard.

Event Information: 

Date: June 18, 2026

Time: 11:30am to 1:30pm

Location: Legends at Diablo Creek,

4050 Port Chicago Highway, Concord, CA

Registration Pricing: 
  • Early Bird (through May 20)- $40
  • General (May 20 – June 10) – $50
  • Walk-In – $60

 
Speaker: Eric Harrison

Senior Vice President, Signature Development Group

Eric Harrison Bio 

Eric Harrison is a Senior Vice President with Signature Development Group, bringing over 40 years of experience in real estate development and related industries. Eric’s expertise lies in large-scale infill development, with a focus on securing entitlements and complex approvals from governmental agencies. Notable mixed-use infill developments include Mission Bay, Brooklyn Basin, and Candlestick Cove. 

Eric began his career with the City of Anaheim as an Assistant Planner before moving into the private sector. He went on to project management roles at RBF Associates where he primarily worked with developers on master-planned communities.   

As a Senior Vice President at Catellus Development Corporation, Eric was part of the team that secured land use entitlements for Mission Bay in San Francisco and led the transition into community development. His responsibilities included oversight of the initial infrastructure construction phase — valued at over $100 million — as well as the creation of public financing mechanisms, establishment of community governance structures for residential and commercial developments, negotiation of land transactions, and development of a risk management plan to address impacted soil and groundwater. 

Eric subsequently joined Signature Properties, where he was responsible for property acquisition, due diligence, budget preparation, and the development and implementation of entitlement strategies. His work there encompassed infill developments ranging from a 125-unit mixed-use project to the reuse of a manufacturing site yielding nearly 3,000 units in a mixed-use, transit-oriented community. 

Prior to his current role, Eric was a Vice President with DMB Associates, where he oversaw entitlements and preliminary engineering design for mixed-use urban infill projects in the Bay Area. 

Eric holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from California State University, Long Beach. 

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