The Staff of the Port of San Francisco will join us on Tuesday night to answer questions about the current status of historic Pier 70 which is made of of several parts, each with its own attendant issues.
Below are the areas of community interest followed by historic documents to put the issues into perspective.
We have asked to hear updates on the following:
A. The future of Pier 70 shipyard operations
B. Fundraising effort for the completion of Crane Cove Park: how much has been raised and can the priorities be shifted?
C. The future of buildings in and adjacent to Crane Cove Park
D. Building uses and agreed-to public access along 20th street in the Historic Core, including JUUL's leases/subleases on buildings 102 & 104.
Context and documents for areas listed above:
A. The 150 year old Pier 70 shipyards were the longest continuously operating shipyards west of the Mississippi until they closed in 2017. Preserving their use was a main objective to the master redevelopment plan for Pier 70, and much of the infrastructure, including 19th street, were in place to serve this industrial site. Without active use, what are the possibilities for the land, historic buildings and infrastructure planned?
B. When Crane Cove Park was first proposed, it extended across the area east of the large concrete slipway, the addition of another acre of land. Due to the way the construction was costed and the time it took, this entire swath of the park was eliminated from the build plan, in addition to several key elements of the park that were put aside for future fundraising. Currently the Port has engaged the Parks Alliance to fund-raise for the following:
+ Tot lot: $800K
+ Rigger yard play area: $89K
+ Dog play area: $727K
+ Crane-top restoration: $4.4M
+ Project Management: $122K
+ Contingency: $622K
TOTAL: $6,800,000
Q: May the community suggest the order of completion of these items, and understand further the future of the eastern side of the park?
C. The Port has announced that it will release a Request for Proposals for the two buildings along Illinois street in Crane Cove Park. Give your feedback at the meeting about your desired uses for these buildings and learn about the process and time line for these future community amenities.
D. The Pier 70 Master Plan of 2010 (below) stated that historic, major cultural, artistic and public use would be a main feature of the historic core. The community embraced this plan and proposals were made by developers to reflect these desired uses. However, now that the project is nearly complete, it appears a shell-game of sorts has taken place and none of these City and community enriching and publicly activating uses have materialized. Though noted in the 2019 Port Commission Report, the community has no reason to venture into Pier 70s corporate office-leased buildings except the beautiful but still inactive 113 atrium.
Q: What can be done to return at least one of these buildings to the stated historic/cultural/public uses in the future?