Developer wanted for challenging site at port
The largest potential building site on San Francisco’s Embarcadero is being offered to developers. Again. The property in question is Piers 3032, a 13acre rectangle that has been empty since the structures on it were destroyed by a fire in 1984. The port of San Francisco is now seeking a developer to bring it back to life — though the price tag is so high that port officials admit they can’t predict what the response might be.
“I do think we’re going to get pragmatic people with eyes wide open,” said Peter Albert, who’s overseeing the effort for the port.
The request for proposals released Monday pairs Piers 3032 with 2.3 acres on the inland side of the Embarcadero known as Seawall Lot 330. That site lot now holds a 200bed homeless Navigation Center the city opened in December.
The two portowned parcels were also bundled together in 2012 when the Golden State Warriors sought to build an arena on Piers 3032.
And when an international developer won the rights in 2000 to build a cruise terminal for the port, accompanied by a hotel and housing on the seawall lot. The port also selected a developer in 1988 whose proposal included what was billed as a Scandinavian cultural center.
The Warriors instead went south to Mission Bay. The cruise terminal plan collapsed. The Scandinavian center sank without a trace.
This time around, the port estimates that the cost of bringing Piers 3032 up to current seismic and safety codes would range between $185 million and $290 million, not counting anything developed on top of the 13acre plateau or across the street.
Logically, this means anything built on the piers would need to generate ample revenue. But neither hotel nor residential uses are allowed, and there’s a 40foot height limit unless voters agree to loosen it.
“There aren’t many places like it — next to the bridge, with excellent transportation — but it’s a money pit,” said Jasper Rubin, a professor of urban studies at San Francisco State University and author of “A Negotiated Landscape: The Transformation of San Francisco’s Waterfront Since 1950.” “I don’t know how the port thinks that anything can happen.”
The port’s waterfront plan allows a museum or cultural use on either of the sites, as well as academic facilities and “assembly & entertainment” space. The mix of uses for Piers 3032 could include offices, as well as berths for deepwater ships such as the U.S. Navy vessels that dock there during Fleet Week.
By pairing the sites, the port is hoping a developer might find a way to subsidize the restoration or reconstruction of Piers 3032 by building on the seawall lot, where the height limit is 105 feet and both housing and hotels are allowed. But developers can also submit bids that include the seawall lot but not the piers, or vice versa.
Another wrinkle: The request for proposals includes a scenario where a developer could demolish the piers and replace them with a smaller one “built at a higher elevation to accommodate sea level rise.”
In short, the hope is that a creative team with access to longterm financing might be able to package a proposal with activities that not only make economic sense — albeit at a low profit margin — but excite the nearby residents whose opposition to the Warriors arena is part of why the team now calls Mission Bay home.
“Having access to 13 acres in this setting is a very rare opportunity,” Albert said. “I could imagine a bunch of different activities in one space if the design is nimble enough.”
Developers have until April 3 to submit a proposal to the port. The earliest point when a decision might be made is July.
Last month, the port issued a request for proposals to restore Pier 38 and Pier 40, a pair of historic structures farther south along the Embarcadero. Proposals for the two piers are due next month.