On Oct 14, 2024, at 4:26 PM, zrants <zrants@gmail.com> wrote:
By James Salazar : sfexaminer – excerpt
The Port of San Francisco and Fisherman’s Wharf business owners agree parts of the area need maintenance and repair. That’s where the agreement ends.
The Port Commission voted Tuesday to endorse the term sheet for a $550 million revitalization of Pier 45 and a parking lot currently operated by SP+ Parking, beginning progress on an effort that would construct a seafood market, food hall, and events center and performing arts space that port officials say will revitalize the wharf’s surrounding area.
But local fishermen contend the area’s many vacant storefronts and lack of industrial facilities are matters that can be handled in the immediate future, and more quickly restoring economic activity than the Pier 45 project.
Sarah Bates, a member of the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association, told The Examiner that she and her group members have “deep concerns” about Pier 45’s proposed redevelopment. She said portions of the proposal could displace longtime waterfront tenants. A group known as Revitalized Fisherman’s Wharf LLC, which includes former Boudin Bakery owner Lou Giraudo and Mission Bay Development Group’s Seth Hamalian, initially sent the proposal unsolicited to the port in February 2023.
The Triangle Parking Lot, owned by SP+ Parking, would house a beverage garden and outdoor plaza, a visitor center, a public open space and short-term vacation rentals. Of the project’s preliminary estimated cost of $548 million, $185.9 million would go toward infrastructure investments along the pier. Officials also plan on seismically retrofitting the seawall. Construction of the project’s first phase isn’t expected to begin until 2028 at the earliest.
Bates said additions like the beer garden could be located anywhere in The City, rather than carving out space along the wharf.
“As working fishing families, we can’t simply relocate for the sake of an amusement park,” Bates said. “Fisherman’s Wharf should be for fishing.”…
Are we looking at another issue for voters to weigh in on? A new mayor may think otherwise. Let’s ask the candidates where they stand on this one shall w
e?