Committee reaffirms Exploratorium fiscal feasibility for Pier 15 move and adds Pier 17 to term sheet

The Government Audit and Oversight Committee reviewed and reaffirmed the Port’s fiscal feasibility analysis for the Exploratorium’s proposed relocation to Pier 15 and the amended and restated term sheet that includes Pier 17.

Byron Rhett, deputy director for planning and development with the Port, and Jennifer Sobel, a senior project manager on the project, told the committee the rehabilitation would preserve historic piers 15 and 17, add exhibits, classrooms, a café and theater, create roughly 2 acres of new public access, and is consistent with the waterfront land use plan. Sobel said the Exploratorium would assume full construction responsibility and operation costs; consultants estimate construction hard and soft costs at $175,000,000.

Sobel described two major changes to the prior term sheet: explicitly including Pier 17 in the lease so the museum can control its expansion timeline, and allowing Pier 17 to be subleased in the interim. The Port staff said the Exploratorium would assume maintenance, operating costs and the risks of lease-up and that any debt the Exploratorium places would be secured by the leasehold rather than by Port property.

Chair Peskin and budget staff asked for assurances on fundraising. The transcript records that the Exploratorium reported $122,800,000 in pledges with approximately $80,000,100 collected; Port staff and the budget analyst said the institution would secure sufficient funding in accordance with the budget analyst’s recommendations. Dennis Bartels, the Exploratorium’s executive director, emphasized access for underserved children. Supervisor Sophie Maxwell moved approval; without objection the committee sent the resolution to the full Board as a committee report for a hearing the following day.