Port director warns of rising vacancies and $2 billion capital backlog; plans Pier 27 cruise terminal study

Monique Moyer, representing the Port of San Francisco, told the Budget & Finance Committee on May 20 that the Port is confronting revenue and asset maintenance challenges even as it pursues strategic investments.

Moyer said Port revenues have grown about 5.5 percent over five years while expenses rose roughly 45 percent, and the Port receives no general fund or state revenues. She reported commercial revenue declines of roughly 20 percent in calendar 2009 to date and a current vacancy rate of about 13 percent, up from 1.7 percent a year earlier. The Port is managing a $2 billion capital improvement plan over the next decade and has already red‑tagged 26 buildings and identified another 27 substructures needing attention.

The Port secured $35 million in general obligation bond funding for open space improvements and plans to seek revenue bonds (potentially $60 million) and federal stimulus funds — Moyer said approximately $27 million in candidate projects had been identified across seven categories. She also described a cruise terminal proposal at Pier 27 — a Port‑funded design approach that would include about a two‑acre public plaza and, if financing and approvals align, an optimistic opening as early as 2012.

The Port concurred with the budget analyst’s recommendations and accepted deletion of five craft positions as proposed; the committee moved the Port item forward without objection. Supervisors asked for additional detail on shore power planning and the Port’s use of Department of Public Works for early design to preserve staff.