BOMA Members Meet with Leaders of The Port of San Francisco

BOMA San Francisco's Government Affairs Policy Analysis Committee (GAPAC) members met with Elaine Forbes, Interim Director and Susan Reynolds, Deputy Director of Real Estate for the Port of San Francisco.

It was an engaging meeting with the Port leaders; Here are a few of the topics that were discussed:

• San Francisco's Sea Wall
• Estimated $5 billion needed for overall seawall upgrades
• Port of San Francisco's Strategic Plan
• Commercial Real Estate and the Port
• The Port has about 600 very diverse tenants, e.g., the San Francisco Giants and the Exploratorium are tenants, with a territory that extends from Aquatic Park to Pier 96 in San Francisco. 
• 88 square feet is the occupancy of their smallest tenant!
• 25 finger piers still exist.
• Some need to be retained and repaired; a challenge is that they must have a maritime use.
• Pier 45 is an active fish processing area.
• Port property cannot be sold so leasing has transpired since 1968. 
• The Port's real estate department has 20 employees including 5 property managers.
• Class C buildings constitute a majority of the structures within the Port's jurisdiction.
• Challenges
• Regulatory framework for the Port and perspective tenant can be issue. This is especially true for leases that include a large amount of square footage as there are, generally, high infrastructure costs associated with tenancy with the Port. 
• Use restrictions are also deal breakers for some possible tenants.

Elaine Forbes was appointed as Interim Director of the Port of San Francisco in February 2016 following the resignation of longtime Director Monique Moyer. She was previously responsible for directing and managing all internal support services for other Port divisions and the executive staff; overseeing business services, inventory and purchasing; managing information systems, human resources, finance, accounting and infrastructure maintenance function; and formulating division-wide budget, business and strategic plans.

Susan Reynolds joined the Port of San Francisco's executive team in November 2006 as Deputy Director of Real Estate. She is responsible for directing, promoting and managing the Port's real estate portfolio along the 7.5 miles of San Francisco's waterfront that extends from Fisherman's Wharf to Bayview/Hunters Point.