Brian Chesky Gives $100 Million to San Francisco Parks: The Five Projects It Funds First

Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky has committed $100 million to San Francisco’s parks, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced on Monday, November 9, 2026. The Mayor’s Office calls it the largest gift the city has received from a single donor. The first $39 million is assigned to five named projects in SoMa, the Mission, Potrero Hill, Bayview-Hunters Point and the downtown waterfront, and the Recreation and Park Department will pick projects for the remaining $61 million over the next year.

The money is not spent yet. According to the mayor’s announcement, the funding is subject to a recommendation from the Recreation and Park Commission and approval by the Board of Supervisors. It covers construction costs plus five years of maintenance and programming at each site, which gives the city time to find ongoing funding.

The Five Projects Funded First

These are the five projects named in the mayor’s release, with the timelines the city gave for each.

• Rachele Sullivan Park, SoMa. A half-acre lot the city already owns on 11th Street between Natoma and Minna streets. The gift lets construction start, and the city now expects the park to open in late 2028 instead of 2031. Plans include a half basketball court, a fitness area, a children’s play area, shaded seating and a public art piece. The park is named for Rachele Sullivan, whom District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey described as a leader in both the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District and the SoMa Pilipinas Cultural District.
• Garfield Square Park and Recreation Center, the Mission. The pool gets Sunday hours, and the playground gets resurfaced. Work is expected to begin in mid-2027 and finish in 2028.
• India Basin Waterfront Park, Bayview-Hunters Point. The gift closes a funding gap in the 10-acre shoreline park now under construction, which is set to add a gravel beach, a boathouse, an adventure playground, basketball courts and a missing stretch of the Bay Trail. The city expects it to open in 2028.
• Jackson Playground, Potrero Hill. A full renovation that moves, restores and expands the historic clubhouse and adds a new playground, a dog run, a multi-use court and accessibility upgrades. Construction is set to start in late 2027, with reopening in 2029. Friends of Jackson Park is named in the release as a recipient.
• Embarcadero Park, downtown waterfront. The rebuild that joins the former Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park into one five-acre park near the Ferry Building. The city says it should break ground in late 2026 and be finished in 2028.

What It Means for Visitors and Residents

One of the five is a place many visitors already pass. Embarcadero Park sits across the Embarcadero from the Ferry Building, and SFGuide covered the pavilion designs the Arts Commission reviewed in October, along with the plan for a central lawn, a stage and a dog play area. Michael Moritz’s Crankstart Foundation is also giving $10 million to the Embarcadero project, SFist reported.

The Garfield Square pool in the Mission is the change residents should see first in daily use: the release says the funding adds Sunday service. Opening dates for the expanded hours were not announced. Rachele Sullivan Park adds open space to western SoMa, a part of the city the release describes as broadly lacking it.

Who Said What

“I’m grateful to Mayor Lurie for his leadership, and proud to support the city we call home,” Chesky said in the city’s release. Recreation and Park General Manager Sarah Madland said the gift means “long-awaited park projects move forward.” Lurie used the announcement to ask other donors to follow: “To every leader who sees what Brian has done today: Our city is coming back, and you also have an opportunity not to watch from the sidelines but to be part of it.”

Chesky told the San Francisco Chronicle he had long wanted to give back to the city, according to SFist, which also noted the gift follows other private funding Lurie has lined up for public projects. Earlier this month, Crankstart and the state put $12.25 million toward the Mission’s two BART plazas.

What Happens Next

The Recreation and Park Commission and the Board of Supervisors still have to act on accepting the funds. Rec and Park will name the projects for the remaining $61 million within roughly a year. SFGuide will add the follow-up projects here when the department announces them.

Sources: Office of the Mayor, November 9, 2026; SFist, November 9, 2026.

Photo: LuisVilla, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The Garfield Square pool building, one of the five funded projects.