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Port staff outlines repair, redevelopment and legal hurdles as Pier 38 stays closed
Summary
Port staff told commissioners that an engineering review of Pier 38 will run through December to determine whether relatively modest repairs (estimated $500,000–$2.5M) can reopen portions of the pier or whether larger structural, regulatory or financial issues would require a master-developer approach or continued closure.
Jonathan Stern, a port staff member, told the Port Commission that after the August repossession the port contracted Cregan & D'Angelo to document Pier 38's existing conditions and recommend repair or redevelopment options. The firm will carry out destructive testing and systems checks through December to assess electrical, plumbing, fire egress and structural issues and to estimate costs for several scenarios.
Stern outlined four possible outcomes: (1) limited code corrections and repairs funded through the port's capital program; (2) a construction project managed by the port with outside contracting; (3) a master-developer approach if repairs trigger development-level review; or (4) keeping Pier 38 shuttered if no feasible path is found in 2012. He said initial cost estimates for core-and-shell repairs range from about $500,000 to $2.5 million but cautioned that costs above that range could push the project into a development track requiring environmental review and additional permitting.
Commissioner Katz asked whether the damage to pilings had been evaluated. Port engineering staff said a recent rapid structural assessment—done from the water and by boat—has identified damaged pilings in need of substructure repair; some large cylinder piles under the main pier retain usable life, but aprons and some pile elements are in poor condition. Staff said they will focus the destructive testing on seismic triggers and the level of retrofit that would be required, noting that threshold decisions about seismic upgrades would alter the scope and regulatory requirements.
Stern also said the former tenant has filed an unlawful-detainer appeal and there are civil claims between the port and the former tenant. He noted that a loan hypothecation held by the California Department of Boating and Waterways could create a third-party lien or takeover option that would need to be resolved. Because Pier 38 is within the Embarcadero Waterfront Historic National Register District, historic-preservation rules, the port's waterfront land-use plan and public-trust considerations will all shape what reoccupancy and rehabilitation are permitted.
Stern told the commission staff expects to return with recommendations in January 2012 and, depending on the findings, could issue construction documents for bidding by May 2012 with mid‑2012 construction start targets. He emphasized that a final path depends on what the destructive testing and technical analysis reveal.
What happens next: port staff will complete the condition documentation and cost estimates, present a recommendation to the commission in early 2012, and then proceed with whichever path—capital repair, master-tenant solution, master-developer procurement, or continued closure—best fits the physical and regulatory findings.
