At the Port of San Diego’s recent public meeting, the Ferry Landing lease was further discussed by the commissioners. This followed the news in October that the Port had rejected a lease extension proposal from the current tenant, Port Coronado Associates (PCA), whose lease is currently set to expire at the end of June in 2026.
Port staff provided a presentation on the item, whereby they noted the Port’s past cooperation with the community, such as adopting the Port Master Plan Update in 2024 with language that included a disallowance for any increase of development intensity for visitor-serving commercial uses (including restaurants, retail, and hotel rooms) at the Ferry Landing Property.
They also went through a list of the deferred maintenance issues that have put PCA in questionable standing with the commissioners as a tenant. Those included concrete steps that are broken and deteriorated at the Landing, deteriorated storefronts with water damage to wood paneling and sunroof windows, a leaky roof on one of the buildings, and missing shingles from other rooftops, along with visible vegetation on debris between them.
Additionally, they noted a water heater that needs to be replaced and is heavily corroded, a corroded pipe from a ventilation air handling unit, a heavily corroded electrical power unit in poor condition without proper labels, an AC unit being propped up on wooden planks, and other rusted utility items.
On the waterfront, the ferry pier dock ramp was also shown to be visibly separating from the pier and has become rusted through, presenting a safety hazard to the public. They showed additional instances of rust damage in other areas of the pier as well, including the boat docks, which have begun to break.
Many of these issues were brought to the attention of the Port from the reports they received from two third-party consultants who conducted facility condition assessments as part of the Port’s due diligence regarding PCA’s lease. The assessments, which were performed in the spring of 2024, identified an estimated $17.5 million of deferred maintenance costs by the tenant, which are within the tenant’s responsibilities as outlined in their lease.
The Port’s rejection of PCA’s lease extension proposal two months ago was based upon their concerns regarding the deferred maintenance and a lack of planning for improvements to the docks. They also felt that the proposal did not address a timeline for what they feel are immediate maintenance repairs for public safety, and they continue to have concerns around how these repairs would affect the timeline for the larger remodel project for the Ferry Landing.
Commissioners also noted a discrepancy between the projected costs for the redevelopment project and deferred maintenance issues, wherein they would like to know how costs are being divided between maintenance and capital. They also felt PCA had not included sufficient performance milestones or financial securities in their proposal to address these concerns.
Following that initial rejection of PCA’s lease renewal proposal in October, PCA sent an updated proposal to the Port on November 13 and a letter on November 20 requesting the Port continue the item at their board meeting in January. An additional revised and updated proposal was also received by the Port from PCA on November 24.
The new proposal from PCA requests a one-year lease extension to June 30, 2027, to give them time to continue to negotiate a proposal with the Port. No additional investment was included in the most recently updated proposal to address deferred maintenance; however, it did include a plan to assess dock improvements, a 2027 proposed start date to the renovation project, and additional personal guarantees.
Multiple Coronado community members and Ferry Landing business owners were present at the meeting (including Mayor John Duncan and Councilmembers Amy Steward and Kelly Purvis), some of whom spoke during public comment on this matter. Duncan and Steward expressed their desire to see the Port continue to work with PCA at this time to discuss a way forward in addressing both the deferred maintenance and PCA’s remodel plans that they’ve worked with the community on developing for years, and have the City and community’s support.
Ferry Landing business operators shared similar sentiments, discussing the positive relationship they’ve had with PCA over the years and mentioning the importance of stability for a small business. Some also asked the Port for additional information on what to expect in six months when their leases are to be renewed.
Christian Herrera also spoke on behalf of the PCA at the meeting and felt that some information the Port staff provided in their presentation did not tell the whole story. He commented that PCA and the Port’s recent safety inspections of the property did not reveal any issues that could be classified as “life safety” issues. He added that in those reports, only 11 of 275 items were deemed to require repair by June of 2026, PCA’s lease expiration date.
Herrera also stated that PCA was not made aware of the Port’s concerns with their proposal until recently, and once they received that feedback they have been quick to respond and make revisions (including adding a commitment to immediately repair those 11 maintenance issues and complete that work within 120 days), demonstrating their good faith as a tenant and their dedication to the property. He added that PCA would like to work cooperatively with the Port to solve these issues, and requested a one-year lease extension beyond the current contract to come to a mutually beneficial proposal for the property.
During the Port Commissioner’s discussion of the item, Coronado Port Commissioner Frank Urtasun reiterated PCA’s cooperation with the community and himself to develop their project proposal and the need to provide direction for the continued successful operation and use of the Ferry Landing by its businesses and the public. Urtasun agreed with the Port staff report that the deferred maintenance issues need to be addressed, and he felt that was the single remaining issue that hasn’t been addressed in the updated proposal at this time.
He strongly felt that another three or more years should not have to go by before the redevelopment project can be approved, and asked the Port to continue to work with PCA at this time to try to work out an appropriate lease proposal.
Other Port commissioners similarly appreciated the public comments and the concerns brought up, especially from the Ferry Landing tenants, and assured the business owners that they would be protected. To that end, they directed Port staff to look into ways to ensure longer-term stability for the subtenants in the case of a transition or other instances of uncertainty with the property lease.
Many stood by the reasoning behind their initial decision based on the Port’s concerns around maintaining not only the property but the development of the project, without any personal guarantees included within the lease language, which led to questions around the tenant meeting their definition of a tenant in good standing and being the stewards of this public land.
Commissioner Dan Malcolm also felt he needed to set the record straight on the public discourse that has followed the initial announcement of the Port’s decision to reject the lease. He stated that the Port has not decided to operate the Ferry Landing themselves, that the Port did not change the lease termination date, that real estate decisions are allowed to be made in closed session due to their sensitive nature, and the Port did not violate any policy in that decision.
Those comments were echoed by other commissioners as well, all of whom were open to further discussions with the tenant but wanted further assurances that PCA would be in the best interest of Coronado and everyone who would use that public land, given their track record with the maintenance issues. Some of the commissioners also felt agreeing to an up to one-year lease extension was premature at this point in time, wanting to discuss things further with PCA around the questions they still have about them as a tenant first.
Instead, a motion was unanimously approved to direct the Port staff to continue to negotiate with PCA and to set up a closed session meeting for the commissioners and PCA in January to continue that conversation then (possibly determining what the parameters of an extension might look like at that point).
They added that they hear the community of Coronado’s wishes on this matter to be able to move the redevelopment project forward, and that the board’s goal is to ensure that the project will happen with the best plan and tenant in place to see it through during and after project construction.
VOL. 115, NO. 51 – Dec. 17, 2025