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When selling the first new townhomes on Yerba Buena Island this past month, developer Chris Meany of Wilson Meany discovered that one of the buyers was a couple who had very different ideas about where they wanted to live.

The wife was very tied into San Francisco’s art scene and couldn’t imagine living anywhere that felt removed from the action, while the husband wanted to follow his obsession with water sports and live further afield. They ended up compromising on Yerba Buena Island, a development of just 266 homes on a natural island in the middle of the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland.

It is 75 percent public open space, with miles of hiking trails, a protected swimming cove and an aptly named Hilltop Park at its peak. Yet it is less than 10 minutes, via ferry, to San Francisco’s Embarcadero and a mere mile’s drive over the Bay Bridge to downtown.

Yerba Buena Island, the new San Francisco, California, neighborhood developed by Wilson Meany and Stockbridge Capital Group, has debuted its newest completed residences: The Townhomes within The Cove Residences enclave. Designed by Hart Howerton and featuring interior concepts by Meyer Davis, this exclusive collection of attached single-family architectural townhomes merges a timeless modern nod to the classic San Francisco row home with a seamless blend of Bay views, market-defining amenities, and sustainable living.

In 2011, Yerba Buena Island, sitting between downtown San Francisco and the East Bay and accessible via the Bay Bridge, introduced a 20-year development to create two residential neighborhoods serving 8,000 people. “With the arrival of the initial Townhomes within The Cove Residence enclave at Yerba Buena Island, our vision of an urban village is truly coming to life,” Chris Meany, managing partner at Wilson Meany, said in a statement.

Taking a page from classic San Francisco row homes, the first single-family residences on Yerba Buena Island have been unveiled. The multi-story floor plans with bay windows and expansive terraces offer views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Marin Headlands, Angel Island and the Berkeley Hills. Called The Townhomes, public sales begin this spring with pricing starting at $2.85 million. The announcement means the island’s residential development is now 50% complete. Meanwhile, the island’s 124-condominium building called The Bristol is 40% sold.

From his sixth-floor condo on Yerba Buena Island, Michael Lee looks out at the idling freighters and crisscrossing ferries, the Port of Oakland’s white cranes, and Berkeley’s green hills. Occasionally, San Francisco-bound friends will hit him up from the Bay Bridge as they are about to motor into the tunnel far below. “My friends will call and say, ‘Hey, I’m about to pass your place,’ ” said Lee, who works as a senior director at Electronic Arts. “I’ll look out the window and wave.”

San Francisco, renowned for its vibrant city life juxtaposed against breathtaking natural beauty, now offers a rare gem that marries urban living with a serene, vacation-like experience. Nestled atop the naturally formed Yerba Buena Island, between Downtown San Francisco and the East Bay, the new Townhomes within The Cove Residences enclave redefine luxury living with a focus on sustainability and community.