The transformation of San Francisco’s northeastern waterfront has set sail with approval of a historic plan to preserve the Bay Area treasure while allowing hundreds of millions of dollars in planned new development.
Until recent years a sleepy stretch of gnarled old piers and warehouses, vacant lots and funky food joints, the waterfront south of Fisherman’s Wharf is bustling with new condos and restaurants built along the renovated Embarcadero Freeway.
China Basin continues to metamorphose as new restaurants, brew pubs, parking lots and $100,000 corporate suites shoot up around the newly built Pacific Bell Park.
The Port of San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commmission, a state agency responsible for public access to the bay shoreline, recently ended years of planning and negotiations with an agreement on development of the waterfront from China Basin to Pier 39, just east of Fisherman’s Wharf.
The agreement allows construction of:
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– A $270 million cruise ship terminal.
– A retail complex at Pier 30-32.
– A $100 million recreational sports complex at Pier 27.
In deference to neighborhood and environmental concerns:
– Two landscaped parks would be erected in an attempt to make the waterfront more accessible to pedestrians.
– Six piers would be fully or partly removed to improve bay views.
– A historic district will be created to encourage preservation of the remaining piers.
These projects come on top of an already approved $66 million renovation of the historic Ferry Building and $30.7 million San Francisco-themed attraction at Pier 45.
“This is a desirable compromise,” said Marc Holmes, a longtime staffer for Save the Bay, a non-profit preservation group that helped forge the agreement.
“We think the mix of development uses with open space is going to create a dynamic and memorable waterfront for all residents of the Bay Area,” said Joseph LaClair, senior planner at BCDC.
The unanimous vote by a joint commission of the port and BCDC belied years of bickering between the two agencies over the waterfront’s fate.
BCDC, which has jurisdiction over all development projects within 100 feet of the shoreline, has long sought to restrict waterfront development to water-oriented uses, such as marinas or boat ramps. It has argued that replacing piers with buildings or offices is tantamount to putting in landfill.
Its stance was at odds with the port, an arm of the city with a narrow focus on encouraging waterfront projects. The port derives much of its $42 million annual budget by leasing space along the San Francisco Bay.
The new plan marks a marriage of the two approaches. The BCDC agreed to relax its restrictions on development, and the port committed to spend $30 million on improvements to make the waterfront more pedestrian friendly.
“The challenge was to find a place along the waterfront for everyone,” said Veronica Sanchez, port director of government affairs.
The plan calls for park-like plazas at the two major waterfront projects. A proposed cruise ship project by developer Lend-Lease will also feature shops, restaurants and offices at the corner of Brannan Street and the Embarcadero. The park must be completed within five years of construction.
A park would also accompany a sports complex, possibly with an indoor soccer field and bowling alleys, that would replace Pier 27 at Lombard Street.
All public improvements must be completed within 20 years, or sooner if the port can raise secure grants or private donations.
The waterfront plan also creates a historic overlay district that allows developers to receive tax credits for waterfront developments that preserve piers not slated for removal.
“The vast majority of waterfront is protected as a historic district and that’s a huge accomplishment,” Holmes said.
The only opposition to the plan came from the maritime union.
“We are getting squeezed into a smaller and smaller area of San Francisco,” said Lawrence Thibeaux of the International Longshore Warehouse Union.
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Port officials responded that the area south of China Basin is still available for maritime uses, but that the city needs to adapt to an economy less geared toward waterfront trade.
“These piers were built for maritime use, but they’re obsolete for that purpose,” said LeClair.