First New Buildings at Pier 70 Anticipated This Year

The mix of vacant land, deteriorating buildings, storage and staging areas at Pier 70 is now getting new life.

SAN FRANCISCO—Pier 70 is notable for its role in the nation’s maritime history, supporting multiple war efforts, as well as in the evolution of industrial architecture in San Francisco. Most of the land is listed on the National Register as the Union Iron Works Historic District and is considered one of the most intact industrial complexes west of the Mississippi. As headquarters for both Union Iron Works and Bethlehem Steel, Pier 70 was home to ship repair operations from the time of the Spanish-American War in 1898 through today.

The Pier 70 area encompasses 69 acres of historic shipyard property that had been left to die for decades. But that mix of vacant land, deteriorating buildings, storage and staging areas is now getting new life. The project areas include the 28-acre site─the Brookfield project, 7-acre Illinois parcels─a Port project, Crane Cove Park─a Port project, 20th Street Historic Core─by the Port and Orton Development and an existing ship repair facility.