San Francisco is moving forward with plans to consider a major renovation of Fisherman's Wharf that will include a seafood market, food hall, performing arts space and more, as well as investments in the existing commercial fishing industry on Pier 45.
But the plan faces opposition from some fishing industry groups that use the pier for unloading, storing and selling seafood fresh from the ocean.
A vote by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors this month unanimously advanced the terms proposed by developer Fisherman's Wharf Revitalization LLC for the $548 million project, which would renovate Pier 45's Shed A, reconstruct Shed C -- which was destroyed in a fire in 2020 -- and develop a triangle parking lot immediately across from The Embarcadero known by city planners as Sea Wall Lot 300/301, but known to the public as the Triangle Parking Lot, which is between Taylor Street, The Embarcadero, and Jefferson Street.
The Triangle Lot includes the flagship Boudin Bakery site. Its original owner, Lou Giraudo, is one of the partners with Fisherman's Wharf Revitalization LLC. The bakery's current owner, Lou's son Dan Giraudo, urged the Port of San Francisco to put the project out for competitive bids, which it ultimately decided not to do after a request for information received little interest, according to city documents.
The vote by the Board of Supervisors declaring the project financially feasible clears the way for the developer to conduct environmental impact reviews and create a more detailed final proposal.
While the project has garnered enthusiastic support from many area businesses and would also address climate and seismic resiliency, some groups representing commercial fishing interests have raised serious concerns such as loss of space.
The project lease terms call for preserving the 40,000 square feet used by the commercial fishing industry in the spaces being renovated and leaving a third building unaffected, which is used primarily by the commercial industry to process, store and sell seafood, according to Chris McGarry, a partner with Fisherman's Wharf Revitalization LLC.
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He said the agreement with the San Francisco Port guaranteed that fisherman would not lose the space they occupy, and that the plan was to explore ways the project could benefit the commercial industry, including investing in equipment and design improvements, expanding capacity and even partnering to help advocate for the industry in various ways, such as when regulators try to restrict fishing seasons or areas.
"There's a lot that we've been working on that's intended to help commercial fishers there at Pier 45," McGarry said in a phone interview.
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He said stakeholders, including fishermen and local businesses, would continue to be consulted as the project moves forward, with a plan to submit a final proposal within 12 months, and a real deadline to so within 15 months.
A website to learn more about the project will launch in early January that will provide more information and give the public a chance to submit feedback.
The initial proposal involves building a 120,000 square-foot "Fisherman's Wharf Experience" that would include exhibition halls, a food hall focused on seafood, an area visitors could watch fishermen process fish, an events center and an immersive theater, according to city documents.
The Triangle lot would be developed to include a park, beer and beverage hall, and vacation rental properties.
The Board of Supervisors received many letters in support of the proposal from area business owners and others, but also expressions of opposition from some commercial fishing groups.
The project was opposed by both the San Francisco Community Fishing Association, a cooperative with 25 members that operates out of Pier 45, and the California Fisherman's Resiliency Association, or CFRA, an umbrella industry group representing 15 commercial fishing organizations, according to its website.
In its letter urging the Board to reject the proposal, the CRFA said that the industry had been driven from other cities over time and regrouped in San Francisco specifically because the city had invested in waterfront commercial space when other cities were redeveloping theirs with leisure and hospitality-based businesses.
"The effort that the commercial fishing industry participants made to return to the Fisherman's Wharf facility will be erased in less than a heartbeat from the massive negative impacts of the proposed non-water dependent application of event centers, performing art venues, pedestrian boardwalks and yet more retail outlets on water frontage traditionally occupied by the San Francisco Fishing community," the organization wrote.
"A token fish market will not begin to keep fishermen in your city, nor will the creation of a fishing museum. There is no substitute for an active, vibrant, and economically robust fishing community producing sustainably caught seafood, while at the same time creating a legitimate and real educational experience for the visitors to San Francisco," the letter said.
The San Francisco Community Fishing Association similarly said any reduction of its space would threaten its members.
"This proposed development will irreparably harm Pier 45 and the fishing businesses that rely on it," the association's president and general manager wrote.
"Our business, as well as the individual small businesses of our members, need space to do the work that brings local, sustainable seafood to San Francisco," they said.
But McGarry stressed that the space reserved for the fishing industry would not be reduced and could be improved by the shared infrastructure being proposed for the food hall. He said the plan would continue to evolve and the company hoped to include expansions of space for the fishing industry.
"There's a lot folks will come to learn about the project, and I'm cautiously optimistic they'll see we're sincere," McGarry said.
