Sacramento bill could allow public swimming pool to float in SF Bay

The San Francisco Bay, with its dark frigid waters, isn’t known as a swimming attraction. A local developer backed by a state lawmaker wants to change that.

Strada Investment Group and Trammel Crow have proposed the Bay Area’s first public floating swimming pool south of San Francisco’s Bay Bridge, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.  

And Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, launched a bill this week to allow construction of the heated pool.

Because the site of the proposed project at Piers 30-32 is owned by the state, a developer can’t build there without special legislative approval. But even if Wiener’s Senate Bill 273 passes, the project must still get a green light from the city, the state and several other agencies.

Wiener described the proposed project as a “powerful vision for the waterfront.

“I’m proud to introduce this new legislation and partner with the Port of San Francisco to make our waterfront stronger, safer, more sustainable and more vibrant,” he said in a statement.

Last spring, locally based Strada Investment and Dallas-based Trammell Crow updated a $1.2 billion plan to redevelop two aging piers and a parking lot on San Francisco’s Embarcadero.

The joint venture aims to turn 13 acres of vacant deck surface on the piers into 375,000 square feet of offices and 45,000 square feet of shops and restaurants. The piers are near the Chase Center, home court of the Golden State Warriors NBA team, and currently is used for parking.

The developers also promised to invest $369 million into rebuilding the piers to restore the deep draft berth for active maritime use.

One of the piers would host the Olympic-size pool, which would float on a barge and include space for lap swimming, water polo games and lounging in a hot tub. A section of the Bay surrounding the pool would be dedicated to open water swimming, kayaking and paddle boarding.

An apartment tower with 725 units, a quarter of which would be affordable, would go up across the street.

“San Francisco’s iconic waterfront draws visitors from all over the world and it is central to our city’s recovery and future,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement. “Senator Wiener’s legislation will help us to invest in the critical infrastructure that will protect it from climate change and sea level rise while also creating the opportunity for hundreds of new homes, including affordable housing, and new spaces for the public to enjoy along our gorgeous waterfront.”

The project won’t be without challenges, according to the Chronicle.

Past attempts to revitalize the piers have failed — including ideas to turn them into an arena for the Golden State Warriors, a George Lucas museum and a cruise terminal. 

But Wiener blames the failure of past projects at least partly on their attempts to rehabilitate the piers. Instead, his bill would authorize completely rebuilding them.

— Dana Bartholomew