May 5, 2005

TO:              MEMBERS, PORT COMMISSION

Hon. Wilfred Hsu, President

Hon. Michael Hardeman, Vice President

Hon. Kimberly Brandon, Commissioner

Hon. Sue Bierman, Commissioner

Hon. Ann Lazarus, Commissioner

FROM:           Monique Moyer

                     Executive Director

SUBJECT:  Informational Presentation on Proposal by TheExploratorium Museum to Develop

Piers 15-17 on The Embarcadero atGreen Street

DIRECTORS RECOMMENDATION: INFORMATIONAL ONLY; NO ACTION REQUIRED

The Exploratorium, a museum of science, art and human perception, was founded in 1969. Its mission is to create a culture of learning through innovative environments, programs and tools that help people nurture their curiosity about the world around them. Exhibits cover a wide range of subject areas including human perception (such as vision, hearing, learning, and cognition), the life sciences, and physical phenomena (such as light, motion, electricity, waves, resonance and weather). Programs include a national center for teacher development, a web site of teaching resources and a global network of partner museums. More than 7 million people see Exploratorium-designed exhibits on display at science centers around the world. The museum itself is attended by more than 500,000 visitors per year, including 112,000 children and teachers.

The Exploratorium currently is located at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. For the past four years the museum has been looking for a new home in order to accommodate its expanding needs. After conducting an extensive search, followed by exploratory talks with Port staff, the Exploratorium proposes to lease Pier 15 under a long-term lease and develop it for museum and ancillary uses, with the idea of expanding into Pier 17 in later years. Piers 15 and 17 are located in the Northeast Waterfront on The Embarcadero at Green Street.

The Exploratorium also has asked to present its proposal to the Northeast Waterfront Advisory

Group at its June 1, 2005 meeting.

Before the Port can entertain any action to move forward, the Port must complete a review process on Piers 15 and 17 pursuant to the Port's Waterfront Land Use Plan to determine whether this Transitional Maritime Area is no longer viable exclusively for maritime activities. Port staff will include the Port's Northeast Waterfront Advisory Group and the Maritime Commerce Advisory Committee in this review process.

Currently, there are two tenants in Pier 15: Bay delta Maritime, which operates tugboats on the Bay under a lease that expires in 2010, and MUNI, which uses a portion of the shed to assemble cars for the MUNI metro system and operates under a month-to-month MOU. In addition, the Port utilizes the eastern berth of Piers 15-17 for berthing of visiting ships. The Exploratorium is interested in leasing all of Pier 15 except Bay delta's premises, plus the Connector Building between Piers 15 and 17 and the Valley area between the piers. These areas are illustrated on the attached facility map.  These premises would be used for museum displays, exhibit fabrication, a museum store, events space, an Outdoor Exploratorium, a theatre, the popular Tactile Dome, a cafe or restaurant, ancillary offices, public access and a bus loading zone. The Valley area between the piers, currently paved with asphalt, is proposed to be a "water pile garden" and lagoon.

Pier 15 is part of the proposed Embarcadero National Register Historic District and any rehabilitation thereto would be performed in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. A project such as is proposed by the Exploratorium would be eligible to apply for federal historic tax credits to

help defray development costs.

It is important to note that the substructures of Pier 15 and the Valley are among the most deteriorated of the Port's facilities. Portions of Pier 15 and the Valley are already load-restricted. It is expected that use of these facilities will need to be further curtailed in the near future unless very extensive repairs are made to the substructures. The Exploratorium's proposal would provide the museum with a permanent home and at the same time preserve the historic pier shed.

Today's presentation is informational only; no action is being or can be requested of the Commission. Members of the Exploratorium staff and the development team of Wilson, Meany Sullivan will present their proposal.

Prepared by: Jennifer Sobol

Project Manager

Planning & Development Division