Port Commission approves acceptance of Mission Rock Phase 1 infrastructure and management agreements

The San Francisco Port Commission on Feb. 11 approved acceptance documentation and a set of management and utility agreements for Mission Rock Phase 1, authorizing steps needed to transfer completed public infrastructure to port ownership and to set a long‑term operating structure for park and open‑space management.

Port Waterfront Development Manager Wyatt Donnelly Landau summarized Phase 1 as four buildings with 537 residential units (161 designated affordable), about 50,000 square feet of ground‑floor retail, and China Basin Park at nearly five acres. He described supporting systems including a district energy system and an on‑site blackwater recycling system and said the port will accept streets, sidewalks, underground utilities and a set of nonstandard public‑space assets. "This is the culmination of a lot of work, 7 years of work," Donnelly Landau said.

Why it matters: the actions put horizontal public infrastructure into the port’s stewardship and create a private‑sector manager responsible for daily park operations and programming. The Commission approved an interagency master encroachment permit (IMEP) and jurisdictional memorandum of understanding (JMOU) to document maintenance responsibilities, a partial release and amendment of the master lease used during construction, a 15‑year China Basin Park lease and loan agreement to Mission Rock Commons (with extension options), a Paseo and Open Space Management Agreement, and licenses for PG&E and utilities operations. Donnelly Landau said the park lease transfers full operations and liability for China Basin Park to the manager while keeping port budget oversight through annual budgets and reporting.

The financing and management structure: the China Basin Park lease allows sponsorships and programming revenues and includes a loan from the recreation park fund to support early operations (up to $300,000 annually for three years, with a cap). The Paseo and open‑space agreement sets a $10,000 baseline management fee plus cost reimbursements based on an annual budget; a contingent special tax (CFD) is intended to remain at $0 as a backstop. Donnelly Landau noted strict private‑use limits are required by the tax‑exempt bond financing and the port will continue oversight with bond counsel to ensure compliance.

Commission questions focused on retail activation, how paver sponsorships will be marketed and maintained, and how ground‑floor spaces are leasing. Jack Baer, representing the San Francisco Giants and Mission Rock Partners, explained a two‑phase paver program that will first reinsert legacy tiles then later market pavers broadly to support park operations; he said the Giants will maintain tiles during the park lease and would step in if the lease terminates.

Outcome and next steps: Commissioners moved and approved the item; Resolutions 25‑05 and 25‑06 were adopted. Donnelly Landau said the port will transmit the acceptance package to the Board of Supervisors in late February or early March for parallel approvals (the financing and management agreements are expected to go to Budget & Finance while acceptance items will go to Land Use). Execution of agreements is expected in late May or early June depending on legislative timing.

Provenance: Topic presented and discussed in the Commission’s Item 12a presentation and subsequent Q&A (see meeting transcript).