San Diego port commissioners, who recently announced plans to terminate a longstanding lease at the Coronado Ferry Landing, may be reconsidering that action: At a meeting on Dec. 9, the board directed Port District staff to review a proposed one-year lease extension from Port Coronado Associates (PCA), which currently manages the commercial buildings and pier.
In late October, the board voted to end a lease with PCA, operator of the ferry landing for the past 40 years.
The district said PCA failed to maintain the properties and proposed an unacceptable redevelopment plan, citing problems with “extensive deferred maintenance,” as the main reason for not renewing the lease.
On Nov. 12, PCA requested a one-year extension of the current lease in order to negotiate a new deal with the Port District – one that would “satisfy pre-construction milestones and provide assurances to existing sub tenants,” district staff reported.
In the proposal, Christian Herrera, the vice president of development and operations at PCA, guaranteed that PCA would begin work for the repairs and upgrades within six months of finalizing an agreement with the port, and certain maintenance and repairs would be completed in 120 days from the time of reaching an agreement.
That promise would shorten the timeline of upgrades by two years, as the original plan was to start work in 2028.
The board voted unanimously to analyze the proposal but most commissioners expressed dissatisfaction with the ferry landing’s deferred maintenance and commented that PCA needed to make sure the maintenance would get done.
I want to ensure that we have the assurances we need that the project is going to get done and it’s not going to fall into disrepair.
Port Commissioner Dan Malcolm
“I want to ensure that we have the assurances we need that the project is going to get done and it’s not going to fall into disrepair,” Commissioner Dan Malcolm said.
The board also informed the public that discussion of the proposal would occur in a closed session. “We cannot have that kind of candid discussion of the pros and cons in the public, in front of the other party that we would be negotiating with,” Commissioner Ann Moore explained.
Moore said she didn’t think the PCA proposal would benefit the community or the Port District, but she was willing to see if there was a middle ground that would address the concerns the port had raised about past management.
Commissioner Frank Urtasun, who is Coronado’s appointee on the board, said he wants the PCA proposal to succeed because it’s been years of negotiations and reaching no conclusion.
Coronado’s stuck right in the middle of it … and we don’t like it.
Port Commissioner Frank Urtasun
“Coronado’s stuck right in the middle of it … and we don’t like it,” Urtasun said.
Around 20 small businesses sublease from PCA at the ferry landing, which means when the master lease is up next year, their tenancy will also end.
PCA’s lease is set to end by July 2026 and the company had been negotiating with the Port District for several years on a proposed extension.
Coronado Mayor John Duncan, who attended the Oct. 9 meeting, said PCA’s proposed upgrades have been needed for quite some time.
“We really, again, appreciate your consideration that this project move forward with improving and remodeling it in a way that’s best for Coronado, best for the other port cities, best for the region,” Duncan said at the meeting.
We really want to get this done. I do believe PCA is capable of doing a project like this and moving it forward very quickly.
Coronado Mayor John Duncan
“We really want to get this done. I do believe PCA is capable of doing a project like this and moving it forward very quickly.”
Commissioners are expected to consider the proposed lease extension in a closed meeting next month, prior to making a decision.
