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Board OKs 10-year lease for Employees’ Retirement System office at 1145 Market
Summary
The Board of Supervisors approved a resolution authorizing a 10-year lease for the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System at 1145 Market Street, drawing questions from supervisors about space needs, remote service options and retirement-board responsiveness to board inquiries.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 7–4 to authorize a 10-year lease at 1145 Market Street for the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS), approving an estimated total payout of about $15,600,000 for the term of Aug. 1, 2014, through July 31, 2024.
The vote followed an extended exchange about why SFERS needs the additional space, how much of it will be public-facing, and whether the system had explored using technology or City Hall facilities to reduce square footage and rental costs. "Part of the excitement that we have about this new space is we're going to be doubling the public space," said Jay Huish, executive director of the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System, describing plans for kiosks, expanded counseling rooms and electronic forms to make services available more hours.
Advocates for the lease, including members of the budget committee, said earlier proposals sought yet more square footage and that the agency trimmed its request after committee review. "We had an original item before us, which was more square footage than it is today," said Supervisor John Avalos, noting that the retirement system reduced the requested increase after analysis and committee feedback.
Opponents argued that the city should press departments to use video conferencing and other technology to limit space growth. Supervisor Jane Kim said the city should be “more thoughtful” about real estate and reduce square footage when possible; she said she would not support the lease as presented. Kim urged departments to share meeting and counseling space at City Hall when feasible.
Supervisor Scott Wiener pressed SFERS staff on a separate equity question: whether SFERS staff would evaluate the feasibility of divesting holdings in Russia. Huish said the board had forwarded Supervisor Wiener’s letters to the retirement board, but that calendaring a staff analysis is a policy decision the full retirement board must request under its rules.
After the discussion, the board took roll-call: Supervisors Yee, Avalos, Cohen, Farrell, Mar, Tang and Wiener voted yes; Supervisors Breed, Campos, Chu and Kim voted no. The resolution was adopted.
The lease will move forward under the terms described to the board. The retirement system said it is pursuing electronic options and kiosks for members but also emphasized that some transactions (for example, retirement counseling and certain signatures) typically require private, one-on-one interaction.
