Investors for Barracks Few and Far Between

SAN FRANCISCO-The Presidio National Trust is looking for investors to transform the Presidio’s Montgomery Street barracks, a group of two-story red brick barracks constructed more than 100 years ago to house soldiers after the Indian Wars.

The Trust, designated by Congress to preserve and enhance the Presidio as a national park while making it financially self-sufficient by 2013, plans to lease these buildings to investors for use as office space or educational centers. Within the next decade, the trust will depend on commercial leases to pay for approximately half of its $70 million budget.

However, the barracks must be completely rehabilitated to make them suitable for occupancy. A couple of the buildings have been on the market for over a year, listed as investment properties, but the price of renovations on the buildings, which could exceed $7 million, has held back potential investors.

Still, the trust is hopeful that investors will step up to the challenge, saying that the lease costs qualify for federal historic preservation tax credits, which would benefit the investors. The trust says that the benefits of the Presidio location, including a natural park-like setting and close proximity to all areas of the city, far outweigh the challenges investors will face in renovating the buildings.

On the Presidio’s design plans, the Montgomery Street barracks are labeled buildings 101 through 105, known as “Infantry Row” and are located in the Main Post, which will be the social center of the Presidio.