The Ferry Building, on the waterfront midway between the new PacBellBallpark and Fisherman's Wharf, was rehabilitated by a joint venture calledFerry Building Investors LLC. The joint venture was a combination of publicand private interests whose members included Equity Office, Wilson MeanySullivan (WMS), Primus Infrastructure LLC, and Banc of America HistoricCapital Assets LLC.

The mixed-use project includes 175,000 sf of Class A office space, 65,000 sfof retail marketplace space, open-air cafes and restaurants, and is home tothe popular Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.San Francisco-based developer WMS performed the work for the joint venture,transforming the site to restore its original design but with moderntouches. San Francisco-based architectural firms, SMWM, BCV Architects andPage & Turnbull designed the makeover, with Plant Construction Co. of SanFrancisco as the general contractor.

Mark Geisreiter, SVP for the San Francisco region of the Chicago-based realestate investment trust, notes that--following the rehab project--the FerryPlaza Farmers Market has already returned to the site and will continuethroughout the summer.

The Ferry Building was designed by A. Page Brown and was completed in 1898.The beaux arts building was the primary point of arrival and departure forSan Francisco until the construction of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges inthe late 1930s.

Restoration of the building was part of a four-year-old effort by the cityto transform the industrial area in which the Ferry Building stands. Theclock tower, modeled after the clock tower of the Giralda Cathedral inSeville, Spain, features four 22-foot diameter clock faces have beenrefurbished, and the historic clock mechanism has been rehabilitated. A newlighting system ensures that the clock tower will be visible both night andday.