Restoration Hardware is first big tenant at S.F.'s Pier 70

February 05, 2016

The high-end home furnishing retailer Restoration Hardware will become the first tenant at Pier 70, the sprawling redevelopment project that over the next decade will transform 66 acres of waterfront land just east of the Dogpatch neighborhood with 1,000 units of housing, offices and waterfront parks.

The Corte Madera furniture company, which has a cult-like following in the interior decorating business, will open a five-story, 60,000-square-foot showroom in the historic Bethlehem Steel administrative building on the corner of Illinois and 20th streets.

Restoration Hardware, which plans to open in 2017, will be a subtenant of Orton Development, which master-leased eight buildings along 20th Street that make up the core of Pier 70. The buildings, dating to 1885, once served as the West Coast headquarters for Union Ironworks and, later, Bethlehem Steel.

Orton partner James Madsen said more leases will follow quickly. He said his group is in advanced negotiations to lease a building to a restaurant operator and another for light manufacturing and office space. And the city is getting ready to break ground on the 9-acre, $25 million Crane Cove Park, which includes the restoration of two historic cranes and a slipway within the Pier 70 boundaries.

“With great admiration and respect for its architectural heritage, we could not be more honored to re-establish this historic landmark’s relevance,” Restoration Hardware CEO Gary Friedman said. “This is a rare opportunity to help render the whole neighborhood more valuable, re-energizing our surroundings and creating a lasting gift to our hometown.”