If you've ever found yourself winding through the fog-heavy roads of Treasure Island in San Francisco, you've probably hit Man o War Drive. It’s a strange place. Honestly, it feels like a ghost town sometimes, but it’s actually the epicenter of one of the most ambitious and controversial urban redevelopment projects in California history. Most people just think of it as a road with a view. They’re wrong. It’s basically a living case study on how difficult it is to turn an old Navy base into a modern neighborhood without making everyone angry.
The road itself circles a chunk of the island that used to be Naval Station Treasure Island. It’s named after the USS Man o' War, or perhaps more generally the "man-of-war" class of sailing ships, fitting the heavy naval theme of the area. But if you drive it today, you aren't seeing military precision. You’re seeing construction fences, cracked pavement, and the slow, grinding evolution of a man-made island that’s literally sinking into the bay.
The Reality of Living on Man o War Drive Right Now
Living here isn't for the faint of heart. You've got the views, sure. Looking out over the water toward the Bay Bridge or the San Francisco skyline from the high points of the island is incredible. But the trade-off is intense. The Treasure Island Development Authority (TIDA) has been working with developers for years to turn this place into a high-density "eco-city." Sounds great on a brochure. In reality, it means the people on Man o War Drive have dealt with years of dust, detours, and the constant hum of heavy machinery.
One of the biggest issues that doesn't get enough play in the news is the soil. Because Treasure Island is an artificial island built for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, it’s susceptible to liquefaction. That’s a fancy way of saying that during an earthquake, the ground turns into jelly. To fix this, the city has been doing "geotechnical stabilization." They basically vibrate the ground and sink massive columns into the earth to make it solid enough to support the new high-rises. If you live on Man o War Drive, your windows have probably rattled for months on end.
The Radiation Scare That Won't Go Away
We have to talk about the contamination. It’s the elephant in the room. For decades, the Navy used this area for salvage operations and even training for NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) warfare. This led to "hot spots" of Radium-226. While the Navy and the California Department of Public Health have spent millions on remediation, many residents and activists, like those from the Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, argue the cleanup wasn't deep enough.
They found radioactive objects buried just feet away from where people were living. It’s scary stuff. When you walk along Man o War Drive, you're walking over a history that the city is trying very hard to pave over—literally. The tension between the "new" Treasure Island (luxury condos and glass towers) and the "old" Treasure Island (subsidized housing and crumbling barracks) is palpable.
Why the Traffic Patterns Are a Nightmare
Getting to Man o War Drive is a lesson in patience. You have one way in and one way out: the Bay Bridge. If there’s an accident on the bridge, you’re stuck. Period.
- The I-80 on-ramps are notoriously short and terrifying.
- Construction closures on the island change weekly.
- The new ferry terminal helps, but it’s expensive for daily commuters.
- Biking is an option, but the wind on the bridge path will ruin your day.
The city’s plan is to make the island "transit-first." They want to discourage cars. They're even looking at a toll for driving onto the island, which has the current residents of Man o War Drive and surrounding streets up in arms. Imagine paying a fee just to drive to your own house. It’s a bold social experiment, but for the people living it, it feels like a tax on the poor.
Architecture: From Barracks to Modernism
The buildings around Man o War Drive are a weird mix. You have the old Navy housing—flat, beige, and utilitarian. These were never meant to be permanent. Then, you see the "Yerba Buena Island" side of the project, which is all sleek, multimillion-dollar townhomes designed by world-class architects like Hart Howerton.
The contrast is jarring. You can stand on one side of the street and see a rusting chain-link fence, then turn 180 degrees and see a building that looks like it belongs in a sci-fi movie. It represents the "San Francisco-ification" of the island. The developers are betting that people will pay $2 million for a condo on a sinking, formerly radioactive island because the view of the Salesforce Tower is just that good.
Is Man o War Drive Safe?
Safety is a relative term here. In terms of crime, it’s actually relatively quiet compared to parts of the Tenderloin or SoMa. There’s a tight-knit community feel because everyone is kind of "stuck" out there together. However, the environmental safety is what keeps the lawyers busy.
- Air Quality: The construction dust is constant. If you have asthma, Man o War Drive is a tough place to be.
- Water Infrastructure: They’ve been replacing pipes that are decades old. Frequent shut-offs are just part of life.
- Sea Level Rise: This is the long-term threat. Experts at UC Berkeley and other institutions have pointed out that even with the "sea level rise buffers" being built, Treasure Island is at extreme risk as the bay rises.
The developers have built the new structures on "raised plateaus" to account for this. But the older parts of the island, including sections of the original Man o War Drive, aren't always part of that elevation plan. It’s a literal high-ground vs. low-ground scenario.
🔗 Read more: Why Hampton Cove Huntsville AL Isn’t Just Another Golf Suburb
What Most People Get Wrong About the Name
People often confuse Man o War Drive with a tribute to the jellyfish. It’s not. It’s about the ships. But there’s a certain irony there, isn't there? The Portuguese Man o' War is a creature that looks like one thing but is actually a colony of many smaller organisms working together. That’s sort of what this neighborhood is. It’s not a single cohesive community yet. It’s a collection of Navy vets, formerly homeless individuals in supportive housing, construction workers, and tech bros who moved in early.
They don't always mix well.
The Navy history is everywhere if you look. There are old hangars nearby that were used to house the Pan Am Clippers—those massive flying boats that used to take off from the cove. When you stand on Man o War Drive, you're standing on the remains of a dream from 1939 about a "Golden Gate International" future. That dream died, then the Navy took over, and now a new dream of high-density luxury is being forced into the soil.
Practical Advice for Visiting
If you're going to check it out, don't just put "Man o War Drive" into your GPS and hope for the best.
Check the Bay Bridge traffic first. Seriously. If it's 4:00 PM on a Friday, just don't go. You'll spend two hours of your life you'll never get back. Once you’re there, park near the Treasure Island Administration Building and walk. The area around Man o War Drive is best seen on foot so you can actually see the weird details—the old military signage, the way the weeds are reclaiming the sidewalks, and the massive scale of the new towers.
Bring a jacket. It’s always ten degrees colder and twice as windy as the city. That’s the Treasure Island tax.
The Future of the Drive
What happens next? The city plans to have 8,000 homes on the island eventually. Man o War Drive will likely be unrecognizable in ten years. It will probably be a manicured boulevard with bioswales and "smart" streetlights. The grit will be gone.
Whether that’s a good thing depends on who you ask. For the developers, it’s progress. For the people who have called the island home for the last twenty years, it’s displacement. It’s the same story we see all over the Bay Area, just played out on a tiny, artificial piece of land in the middle of the water.
Actionable Steps for Interested Parties
If you're looking to move to or invest near Man o War Drive, do your homework. Don't just trust the glossy brochures.
- Review the EIR: Read the Environmental Impact Report for the Treasure Island Development Project. It’s dry, but it tells you exactly where the toxins were found.
- Check the Toll Schedule: Stay updated on the San Francisco County Transportation Authority's plans for the "Treasure Island Prospectus" regarding tolls. It could cost you $5+ just to leave your house during peak hours.
- Visit at Night: The island feels very different after dark. See if you're comfortable with the isolation.
- Look at the Geotechnical Reports: If you're buying, you want to know exactly how your specific building is anchored.
Man o War Drive is a fascinating, messy, beautiful, and slightly terrifying piece of San Francisco. It’s a place where the past is being buried under tons of new dirt, but the ghosts of the Navy and the 1939 World’s Fair are still there if you know where to look. It’s not just a road; it’s a frontline for how we build cities in an era of climate change and extreme inequality.