The Port of San Diego could hand a 35-year lease to Port Coronado Associates for the Coronado Ferry Landing, potentially fast-tracking a long-planned makeover of the waterfront. The proposal would move the renovation timeline up a year, add strict performance milestones and expose the operator to steep financial penalties if work slips. For residents, ferry riders and the small businesses that depend on bayfront foot traffic, Tuesday’s vote could decide the future of the pier and surrounding shops.
The San Diego Unified Port District's Board of Port Commissioners is scheduled to vote Tuesday at 1 PM on an option-to-lease for the Ferry Landing, according to the San Diego Unified Port District. The existing master lease is due to expire this summer and the property has been the subject of months of negotiations between the Port and long-time operator Port Coronado Associates, leaving tenants and city leaders watching closely.
What is in the proposal
Under the draft agreement, PCA would have 12 months to meet a list of preconditions before signing a 35-year lease and could forfeit its option if those milestones are not cleared. The plan moves construction up to 2027, shortens the build-out from 36 months to 24, folds pier structural and utility work into the scope and calls for an activation consultant to program public spaces and seasonal events, according to a Port of San Diego staff report.
The price tag and penalties
The staff report describes PCA’s landside and pier improvements at roughly $13.9 million and separately obligates no less than $5.3 million for subtenant build-outs, bringing the total close to the nearly $20 million PCA proposed earlier. The draft ties rent to a share of the center’s sales with a $600,000 minimum to start and scheduled step-ups that push the floor toward roughly $2 million by the end of the 35-year term. If renovation work is not completed by July 1, 2029, rent would automatically increase by $250,000 per day until the work is finished or the lease is terminated, and the lease would require independent condition assessments at years 10, 20 and 30, per the same Port of San Diego staff report.
Local reaction and what is next
Coronado’s appointee on the Port board, Frank Urtasun, applauded the terms as a possible path to resolution and Coronado Mayor John Duncan urged the Port to move the project forward, according to reporting by the Coronado Times. The dispute began after the Port initially signaled it would not renew PCA’s decades-old master lease, a move that stalled the planned redevelopment and left roughly two dozen subtenants uncertain. The Ferry Landing sits on tidelands held in public trust under California law, a legal constraint the Port must weigh in any long-term arrangement; see the California Coastal Commission for the public-trust framework.
What happens next
If the board approves the option Tuesday, PCA will get a year to meet the preconditions before a final lease can be executed. If the board rejects the option, the Port could assume direct control of the property and the redevelopment timeline would shift. For tenants and visitors the immediate effect will be uncertainty until construction starts, but a yes vote could mean shovels in the ground earlier than many expected.
