Weighing Presidio’s Fate

A seven-member commission has reached the critical stage in converting the historic San Francisco Presidio into a self-supporting national park. How well the Presidio Trust does its job will determine whether the 1,480-acre former Army base remains a sylvan haven at the northern tip of San Francisco or ultimately is sold for total commercial development.

The board, established by Congress, has struggled to choose between two proposals for the 23-acre Letterman Army Hospital site on the northeast corner of the Presidio, where it abuts the Marina District and the Palace of Fine Arts just off U.S. 101. The winning developer will demolish the abandoned 10-story hospital and an adjacent five-story laboratory before starting construction. Final bids were submitted by two well-financed organizations, George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic film empire and a combine of the development firms of the Shorenstein Co. of San Francisco and Interland of San Mateo.

Lucas proposes to build Letterman Digital Center, a campus to house five of Lucas’ firms in an office park with 15 acres of open land accessible to the public. The Shorenstein plan would provide a mix of high-tech office space and housing with slightly more public area, but scattered in small tracts throughout the development. Some local groups favor the Shorenstein proposal because the city needs housing badly, but others point to the Lucas plan’s better traffic and parking schemes, density and relationship to the neighborhood.

Regardless who wins, the trust still will have a major role in the development. It needs to work with the developer to make certain the final design meets its criteria and fits within the overall park concept.

Many former military bases are now industrial parks or housing areas. The Presidio was unique. Stretching across the top of San Francisco and adjoining the Golden Gate, the space was considered too great a natural asset to be turned into a massive mall or housing project. The old post, overlooking San Francisco Bay, includes groves of cypress and eucalyptus trees, parade grounds, a military cemetery, golf course, stately old barracks and administrative buildings and officers’ homes from the Victorian era.

Congress decided on an option that has been variously described as a stroke of genius or a devil’s bargain. The Presidio, established by the Spanish military in 1776, would become a national historic park run by a presidential commission with initial federal support of $25 million a year. But portions of the base would be developed commercially so that the park would become economically self-sustaining by 2013 with an expected annual operating budget of $36 million.

There was no lack of interest. Eighteen proposals were offered, including several for hotels and conference centers. The field was pared to four and then to two. The competition seems to assure the financial future of the park. Now the trust must make certain the development fits in with the Presidio’s historic legacy and unique parkland setting.