Committee advances Port settlement and new Pier 24 Annex lease; museum director urges support

The Budget & Finance Committee voted Sept. 8 to advance to the full Board a settlement and new lease between the Port of San Francisco and the Pilara (Pilara/Panara) Family Foundation for the Pier 24 Annex.

Michael Martin, assistant port director, said the settlement recognizes roughly $5.5 million in verified unamortized substructure, core and shell costs as rent credits. Those credits would be applied to address rent delinquency since 2017 and to reduce the tenant's monthly rent payments going forward; staff estimated the monthly payment would be about $5,735.31 after credits, and that the lease term would run roughly 3 years and 10 months depending on the execution date.

Christopher McCall, director of Pier 24 Photography, spoke in support of the resolution, saying the museum provides free access to exhibitions and educational resources for school groups and requested that the committee approve the resolution so the museum can continue operating on the waterfront.

Port staff also requested a technical amendment to correct a date in the resolution (the initial lease date to June 2007); the committee approved the amendment by roll call and moved the item to the Board with a positive recommendation.

The item will return to the Board of Supervisors for final approval; the port commission previously approved a related settlement and new lease in March 2020.