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Forest City and city staff outline conceptual Pier 70 plan; infrastructure costs estimated at about $150 million
Summary
Forest City and city staff presented a conceptual land-use plan for the approximately 25-acre Pier 70 waterfront site, describing a mixed-use 'creative core', preservation of historic structures, an open-space framework and preliminary infrastructure estimates of roughly $150 million. The plan proposes about 1,000 housing units (20% affordable) and significant office and open-space components; term sheet expected to return to the commission soon.
Forest City, the Port and city staff presented a preliminary, conceptual plan for the Port’s Pier 70 waterfront site, describing a mixed-use approach that preserves key historic buildings, creates waterfront parks and sets a path toward a two-year entitlement process.
Kelly Khan of the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development said the plan builds on the Port’s 2010 master plan and the community outreach work done since Forest City and Port staff executed an exclusive negotiation agreement in July 2011. Alexa Arena of Forest City described a user-research-driven approach and said the team engaged more than 500 community members in workshops and focus groups to identify values such as maintaining industrial character, expanding public access and supporting local makers.
Jack Sylvan and the Forest City design team walked the commission through proposed land uses and massing. Key numerical elements noted in the presentation included an infrastructure projection of about $150,000,000 (rough estimate from an engineering and cost-estimating team), a proposal for roughly 1,000 residential units with 20 percent delivered via low-income housing tax credits, about 2.2 million square feet of office space, and approximately eight acres (about 30 percent) of open space.
Presenters discussed site constraints including an environmental remediation area for which PG&E is responsible, slipway engineering challenges, liquefaction risk on filled shoreline, and sea-level rise considerations that may require raising site grades by 3–4 feet in places. Forest City said a term sheet would be returned to the Port Commission within one to two months; after commission and Board of Supervisors endorsement, a two-year entitlement and CEQA review process would follow.
Community commenters from the Central Waterfront Advisory Group and other neighborhood advocates praised the outreach and emphasized that the Planning Department should have an ongoing, visible role in the process, that early delivery of at least some open space should be prioritized in phase 1, and that transportation access and affordable housing remain critical issues to resolve during entitlement.
