This month's Bulb
The Proposed Broadway Pier Cruise Ship Terminal

Work officially began on August 4th on the $22.4 million cruise ship terminal at the Broadway Pier along the downtown waterfront when officials from the Port and representatives from the major cruise lines wielded sledgehammers for a ceremonial groundbreaking.

The terminal building itself has been controversial for years, requiring multiple redesigns. The final approved design of the proposed 52,000-square-foot, two-story steel and metal-framed terminal has an industrial, maritime aesthetic. As is the norm for most public buildings these days, the facility will be the Port’s first “green” building, designed to meet LEED Silver using less water, less energy and producing fewer pollutants. A photovoltaic system will be installed on the roof to provide at least 12 percent of the building’s energy. If all goes according to plan, construction is scheduled to be completed in December 2010.

However, of current concern is the future of the remainder of the 1000 foot pier. Once slated as a public park for the full extent, now the pier needs to provide service functions for the terminal in addition to whatever public functions can happen in the left over space. The Port insists that on days when there are no cruise ships docked,
the public will have access to the pier, including a public space at the rear of the terminal building with bay views. $1 million of the project funds has been set aside to turn the terminal’s “forecourt,” the pier’s first 400 feet, into something special.

How this forecourt is handled is critical. Can an inviting public space be created that can also accommodate truck loading and service areas and bus turning circles? Renderings of the terminal building do not illustrate how this building will fit in with the grander civic scale plans for our waterfront along the North Embarcadero. One thing is certain, the design team needs to give much more thought to the public space surrounding the terminal building and not treat the public space as an afterthought.

Although unanimously approved by the CA coastal commission, there is now an appeal in the works. The matter will be heard at the Coastal Commission’s August hearing, where they will decide if the appeal has merit and whether to move forward with the appeal process.