San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee joined the Port of San Francisco, Department of Public Works, Turner Construction and the maritime community in celebrating the “topping out” of the Pier 27 Cruise Terminal project. The traditional topping out ceremony signifies the half way mark of a construction project, and is demonstrated by the hoisting of the final steel beam into place at the top of the building being constructed.
The Port is building the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal at Pier 27 over an approximate one year period. The new terminal building first will be used as the venue for the 34th America’s Cup Village in 2013.
“The new Cruise Terminal project will not only help us successfully host the 34th America’s Cup, but it will be a legacy project that boosts tourism, creates jobs, and transforms our iconic waterfront,” said Mayor Ed Lee. “We are creating significant economic benefits to our City as we deliver major infrastructure projects on time and on budget.”
After the America’s Cup event in 2013, the Port will complete the James R. Herman Cruise Terminal in 2014 to make it operational for cruise ships, and create a new 2.5 acre public park known as the Northeast Wharf Plaza.
“The new terminal will give our visitors one of the most spectacular gateways to a city anywhere in the world. They will be greeted with views of the amazing San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island, the Bay Bridge, Coit Tower and the iconic Transamerica Pyramid, a vista that is unduplicated anywhere in the world,” said Port Executive Director, Monique Moyer.
The new cruise terminal will be sized to handle vessels up to 1,200 feet long and carrying 2,600 passengers and has the capacity at key areas to allow it to service vessels carrying as many as 5,000 passengers. On non-cruise days, the terminal will be used as a special event facility.
The Pier 27 Cruise Terminal is to be named in the honor of James R. Herman, former Port Commissioner and President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. The James R. Herman cruise terminal has been designed to meet modern ship and operational requirements of the cruise industry.
The cruise terminal project provides an on-going stimulus to San Francisco’s economy by attracting visitors and contributing tax revenue to the City’s General Fund. It is estimated that the cruise industry in San Francisco supports $31.2 million annually in economic activity and generates 300 jobs within San Francisco.
The Department of Public Works, along with the Port is responsible for construction management of the cruise terminal project. The number of direct labor jobs created for the construction is expected to be over 1000 jobs.
“As project manager for the cruise terminal, we’re ensuring that the project is on time and will be ready for the America’s Cup,” said DPW Director Mohammed Nuru. “But equally important, we are proud that we are exceeding our local hiring goal and putting San Franciscans back to work.”
