San Francisco continues to hold its own as one of the great green cities in the world. Up there with Vancouver BC, Portland, OR and Malmo Sweden. Malmo incidentally is Sweden’s third largest city and is known for its extensive parks and has been an “ekostaden” eco city for sometime now. Vancouver gets nearly 90% of it’s electricity from hydropower and was green long before the 2009 Winter Olympics which further showcased its green reputation.

Now one of San Francisco’s oldest neighborhoods, the Presidio is moving toward a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the neighborhood; after decades of debate over the district’s future some of which had been off limits to the public. The once  abandoned Marine Hospital and a handful of residences in the 42-acre district located at 15th Avenue and Lake Street on the southern edge of the Presidio, have now been converted.

Writing for San Francisco Press Victoria Schlesinger states “The district now contains roughly 170 new rentals units, the lion’s share of which are in the converted Marine Hospital. A row of tony new townhomes stand along Belles Street and 11 former physician residences on Wyman Avenue have also been restored.”  The Presidio Trust just hosted tours of the new green neighborhood.