Construction has begun on the Port of San Francisco's long-awaited 88,000-square-foot cruise terminal at Pier 27, quickly following the Board of Supervisors approval of an environmental report on the terminal and events related to the 34th America’s Cup events to be held in the city this year and in 2013.
San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee said the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal is a key port infrastructure project to host the prestigious 160-year-old yacht racing event, which will bring thousands of jobs and nearly $1 billion in economic impact for the visitor, hospitality, construction and transportation industries.
Moreover, the terminal, in the planning stages since September 2007, provides a gateway to San Francisco for cruise passengers befitting the city as a world class destination, said San Francisco Port Commission President Doreen Woo Ho. The cruise industry in San Francisco generated almost $40 million in 2011.
"This new cruise terminal, and the world attention that the America’s Cup will bring to our waterfront, will benefit our local and global visitors, as well as our tenants and local businesses, for decades to come," Woo Ho said.
The cruise terminal is designed by KMD Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz and Pfau Ling Architecture JV, with Turner Construction as the contractor. The construction project will bring 600 direct jobs. The two-level terminal is targeting LEED silver certification. The Department of Public Works will manage construction of the project.
The America’s Cup World Series races will be held in San Francisco from Aug. 11 to Sept. 2 this year. The America’s Cup Challenger Series will run from July 4-Sept. 1, 2013, and the America’s Cup Finals will be Sept. 7-22, 2013.