Investors want to bring the fish back to the San Francisco Fish Pier

Louis Giraudeau, a descendant of the former Boudin Bakery, has joined forces with Chris McGarry, former CEO of Save Mart Supermarkets, and Seth Hamalian, co-founder of Mission Bay Development Group, to propose a dubious redevelopment plan for Pier 45, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Their goal: to turn the neighborhood into a seafood-focused attraction while highlighting its historic identity as a working port, with a food court, seafood processing center, and fish market.

In addition to a food court and processing center where the public can watch workers prepare for the day’s catch, it will include an events center, an interactive museum, and short-term apartment rentals, along with more public spaces.

their plan Sent unsolicited last month to the port of san francisco. It comes as Fisherman’s Wharf is trying to recover from it Closure of restaurants And the city’s tourist economy is taking a hit during the pandemic.

“Right now, Fisherman’s Wharf is in crisis, because San Francisco is in crisis,” Giraudo told the Chronicle. “We love San Francisco, and this isn’t about making a lot of money. They’re San Franciscans trying to revitalize a piece of San Francisco.”

He said he hopes it will take three and a half years to complete, if it gets the city’s approval. “The old pros will tell you Giraudo is crazy, and it’s a 10-year project,” he said.

The initial application did not say how much the Pier 45 project would cost, but Giraudo said he and his partners have the capital to seed the potential project. Should the plan get the go-ahead from port and city officials, he said they have commitments from local institutional investors.

The investor group, called Fisherman’s Wharf Revitalized, envisions changes not just for Pier 45.

It aims to redevelop the land bounded by the stretch of Jefferson Street that runs along the wharf and intersects Taylor, Mason and Powell Streets and which includes Boudin’s Bakery – now owned and operated by Giraudo’s son.

He also envisions a new public square and pedestrian walkway, as well as a combined winery, brewery and distillery in an area mostly used for parking.

Phase Two will redevelop a triangular lot occupied by a funnel and parking lot associated with Jefferson and Taylor Streets.

Fisherman’s Wharf was once home to the city’s commercial fishing fleet known for its annual harvest of lobster. For more than a century, it has been known for its fresh seafood, caught, sold, or cooked by Italian immigrants and their descendants.

But the dock has declined since the pandemic. In May 2020, A.J Big fire Tear through Shed C on Pier 45, where many lobster fishermen stow their gear.

A number of the old Italian seafood restaurants along the quayside have closed, some permanently, as tourism in the quayside neighborhood has come to a halt.

“The neighborhood risks stumbling into a downward spiral that will be extremely difficult and costly to reverse,” the plan states, highlighting the restaurant closures. “While tourists may have felt compelled to visit in the past, the city can no longer afford the idea that they will continue to come without adding new investments and attractions in the near future.”

In December, the Denver-based Blackridge Group proposed demolishing a two-story commercial building at 2629 Taylor Street in Fisherman’s Wharf and replacing it with Hotel with 136 rooms.

Dana Bartholomew