Mayor Edwin M. Lee with Supervisor Malia Cohen today announced the introduction of a resolution approving a term sheet for a total investment of $58 million and findings of fiscal feasibility for the Pier 70 Historic Core project. The Pier 70 Historic Core, the most intact 19th Century industrial complex west of the Mississippi River, is a collection of six historic commercial and industrial buildings that line 20th Street near Illinois Street that are located south of the new UCSF Research Campus at Mission Bay. When the project is complete, the buildings will accommodate a range of new businesses from light industrial, commercial office, studios and showrooms for artists as well as neighborhood dining destinations, in addition to creating an estimated 500 new jobs.

“Encouraging investment in the Central Waterfront is one of my top priorities, and this legislation is an early step forward and a sign that San Francisco is serious about investment in our waterfront,” said Mayor Lee. “From the Warriors Arena at Piers 30-32, to the Giants’ Mission Rock development just south of the ballpark, to Pier 70, we have an opportunity to transform this waterfront corridor into a vibrant neighborhood and regional destination while creating a center for manufacturing. In the Pier 70 area, I’m especially proud of our commitment to balance the need for open space, maritime facilitate, historic rehabilitation and new development sites.”

“I am proud to co-sponsor this legislation and to continue working with Mayor Lee and the community to revitalize and restore the historic 19th Century buildings on Pier 70,” said Supervisor Cohen. “Our Central and Southern Waterfront were once the hubs of vibrant commercial activity. The investment that is being made in Pier 70 will revitalize these historic spaces with 21st Century uses, add publicly accessible open spaces and restore this area to the vibrant commercial center it once was.”

Orton Development Inc. specializes in large-scale commercial and industrial rehabilitation and redevelopment projects. Orton has redeveloped over 16 million square feet of buildings, with projects including office, industrial, R&D, loft, and warehouse space. Following a competitive developer solicitation process in May 2012, the Port entered into an exclusive negotiation agreement with Orton for the lease, rehabilitation, and development of the 20th Street Historic Buildings. Orton presented its conceptual project to the Port Commission on July 10, 2012. The proposed term sheet between the Port of San Francisco and Orton Development Inc. was approved by the Port Commission on October 9, 2012.

The Pier 70 Historic Core buildings themselves evoke an era when even industrial buildings were constructed as near-cathedrals: the enormous Union Iron Works Machine Shop, built in 1885-86 is clad in rose-colored brick, with a 60 foot interior height, building-length skylights and row-upon-row of high arched windows down the entire façade. Its companion building is the Union Iron Works (UIW) Office Building, a Renaissance Revival structure built in 1896, with rounded porticos, two-story arched windows, and a copper “headband” topping its façade.

Two Classical Revival buildings put up by the 1905 successor to UIW, Bethlehem Steel, at the height of the City Beautiful Movement, are appointed in hardwoods, marble, brass, and elegant tile. The Administration Building, finished in 1917, was built at the corner as the grand entry to the Shipyard. It was the most modern and impressive office building of its time. Next to it is the Power House, an elegant Beaux Arts structure built five years earlier to house four large air compressors used by the shipyard and have remained there.

The final two structures are a metal-clad foundry-and-warehouse dating from 1916, with unusual windows and monitor skylights and a basic heavy warehouse, dated to 1941, housing more huge cranes. Both were used during the round-the-clock emergency shipyard work carried out all through World War II.

The Pier 70 Historic Core project is one piece of a larger vision for Pier 70 – a 69-acre historic maritime industrial area. The overall vision for a revitalized Pier 70 is to create an economic driver for the City, connecting San Francisco’s Innovation Corridor from the Financial District to the Hunters Point Shipyard. A new destination for locals and visitors alike, Pier 70 will eventually include new public parks, a vibrant mixed-use commercial core and facilities to accommodate San Francisco’s 21st century industries including artisanal manufacturing, technology and biotechnology. The Pier 70 project also includes a partnership with Forest City to redevelop the waterfront site, an approximately 25-acre development project at the eastern shoreline of Pier 70. It also includes rehabilitation of existing historic structures, the creation of shoreline open space and a primary role in returning Pier 70 to its historic level of activity and use. A term sheet with Forest City for the waterfront site is anticipated for early 2013.