Pier 27 Design

The construction of San Francisco’s James R. Herman Cruise Ship Terminal at Pier 27 is scheduled to be finished in August and the Crown Princess is slated to be the first ship to berth at the new terminal on September 18.

On the agenda for Port of San Francisco this afternoon, a public hearing to approve the Port’s plans to allow non-cruise ship activities – such as trade shows and private parties – to be held at Pier 27 when no cruise ships are in town.  Also proposed, parking for tourists within the terminal’s ground transportation area and parking lot.

A projected 84 cruise ships will call on San Francisco in 2015, leaving plenty of terminal downtime for other uses.  And without an agreement in place to “share” Pier 27 for non-cruise related activities, the new terminal will operate at a projected loss of over $2.2 million a year.  The Port has already booked the pier for at least five private events in late 2014, including events for Salesforce and LinkedIn.

In order to use Pier 27 for tourist parking, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) will need to approve an amendment as the permit for the pier only allows for the parking area to be used for cruise related activities.  Said amendment has yet to be approved.

Even with 52 events a year at $46,000 apiece, the Port’s base case scenario, the Port is forecasting a loss of over $400,000 a year for the Pier 27 if tourist parking isn’t allowed.  And even with the tourist parking in place, should it be approved, the Port will lose $194,000 a year on Pier 27 under its project base case.

11 thoughts on “Parties And Parking At Pier 27 Or A Loss Of Over $2M Per Year”
  1. The Examiner cites an email where Monique Moyer described the proposed cruise terminal as a white elephant which would burden the PORT in the future. She evidently was right.

  2. Using the space for non-cruise activities during the downtime gaps sounds like a good idea. Why not make the most of these waterfront resources?

    What is the scoop on parking though? I doubt many spaces are required to service a visiting ship. Why not also reuse that parking while the ships are at sea? But don’t add non-ship related parking for tourists just to create a revenue stream. That’s a silly use of waterfront property.

  3. There are going to be 84 visits to the pier in 2015, and during those visits they want access to the Plaza ,

    So given that its not going to work for Teatro Zinzanni , though I hope they find a home either at the SF Giants , or the Golden State Warriors entertainment zones

    But 1st lets understand this is a gateway to San Francisco for 200,000 tourists , as a rule Tourists spend about $240.00 each per day , of course this will be far less since they will not be needing a Hotel Room , but even without a room they will be visiting our shops, eateries, places of interest , and using our taxis.

    So let the area be used for events, allow it be rented for parking, and the small costs will come back to San Francisco via its usage

  4. As far as I can tell, the Port’s main function is to provide parking for non-public trust related purposes. Why not give up the pretense that Port property will ever be used for public trust purposes and just allow the use that’s in greatest demand: housing.

  5. sirc . housing is needed , but this would be a horrible location , its better used for events either as an open air site or with some sort of structure that can be monetized

  6. A White Elephant for the Port, perhaps, but not for the City. Clearly, a way needs to be found to make the Port whole.

  7. So what’s their break-even number of cruise ship calls? 100? Pretty crazy if the Port can’t make big bucks on this terminal already at 84 calls. Raise the prices! Where are they gonna go, Oakland?

  8. If the price for the rental is raised by only $4,000 for each use, from $46,000 to $50,000, then the deficit disappears. That assumes, as they have, that there will be one event a week. This change should not dissuade any organizations that want to use this prime location for an event.

  9. I attended the Port Meeting this past Tuesday, May 27th at which Mr. Doll of The Port of San Francisco, presented the “updated” Directors Recommendation for the use of Pier 35, 29, 27 (including parking at 35 & 27) and the Belt Line Railway building (Cruise Ship Terminal).

    The Board of The Port of San Francisco voted unanimously to approve the Directors Recommendations (16 pages & economic analysis). They asked questions regarding the use of parking on no Cruise Ship days and would BCDC allow this use for Pier 27 & 35. The port noted that the projected number of cruise ship arrivals in 2015 could be as high as 82 visits.

    This leaves 280 days for the Port and its partners to use these waterfront piers and aprons for all types of events. No mention in the approved agreements was as to number of days, hours of operation, management of facilities, sound, traffic control, etc.

    Nor any penalties for use of the facilities that could be detrimental to the (1) commercial owners and clients nor (2) the residential tenants and owners who have resided across the street for 30+ years on Telegraph Hill and the condominiums at the foot of Telegraph Hill.

    The only question the Port Board had of its staff was would BCBC allow parking on at Pier 35, the parking apron at Pier 27 and Pier 29. Previously BCDC had taken away the Port’s rights to have parking next to the Ferry Building because it was not a maritime use. The majority of the projected parking use at Pier 35 & 27 would be for non-maritime use dates (280 days) . The projected parking revenue on non-maritime days was as much as $951,000 annually, which was over 50% of the projected income to the Port. (see the attachments)

    A review of the approved Directors Recommendation notes that the vendor “Metro” and it’s sub vendors have a 10 year + option for an additional 5 years (15 Years) to host these no maritime events.

    This compares to 3 months that Live Nation took over Pier 27 last summer, which often may it impossible for residents at Telegraph Landing and 101 Lombard to stay in their condominiums during the concerts.
    During the Live Nation Concerts at Pier 27 last summer, there were many concerts that produced noise levels above the City allowed 46 DB. This noise level caused many owners and renters at Telegraph Landing, 101 Lombard condominiums to leave their condominiums as they could not stop the noise, which went on until 11:00 PM at many of the concerts.

    Now the Port wants a 10 year + 5 option to move Moscone Center II to the waterfront, across the street from over 2,000 residents that have been living there since 1980.

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