An arts use now seems like a likely tenant for a huge empty space along the Embarcadero at Pier 29 that has sat mostly vacant for years — the same space that suffered a big fire in 2012. The Port of San Francisco is looking to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for the space, as Hoodline reports, and are seeking the Port Commissions OK to do so in the near future, with tours of the space for prospective tenants happening next month.

The space was part of the America's Cup village and, after considerable restoration post-fire, became the temporary home of New Zealand pop-up restaurant Waiheke Island Yacht Club during and after the race in 2013.

It then sat empty in anticipation of a possible return of the America's Cup, but then Larry Ellison decided to take the party to Bermuda instead.

Last we heard, the Port was considering turning the space into a "San Francisco Bay Area themed marketplace" a la the Ferry Building, but with less of a food focus. A year and a half later, it sounds like they've refined that vision and they're looking to turn the 20,000-square-foot "bulkhead" space (the portion adjacent to the Embarcadero) into a venue for "the creation and sales of arts, crafts and/or dry goods." There will still be a local focus, but it sounds like the Port is now leaning toward a single tenant who might sublet to others, rather than trying to subdivide the space themselves.

They say they are looking for a range of proposals from different creative types, "including artists and designers working out of studio/exhibit spaces; innovators’ open studios; galleries; public and other markets; and ongoing exhibitions, cultural and exhibit space, including ancillary space for live demonstrations and displays."

The vast rear "shed" portion of the space that extends out on the pier will require too much expensive seismic work to be reused anytime soon.

The RFP is set to go out later this month, with a selection process to occur in the spring and be complete by May. Community input won't be sought until the bidder is selected, and this will be mostly for the design aspect — something that Bob Harrer, president of the Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association, is already bristling about, according ot Hoodline.

As one Ferry Building merchant pointed out when the first ideas were floated for a marketplace concept, the Ferry Building already has a problem accommodating visitors because it has no parking, and a second marketplace down the street will only exacerbate that.

Read the Port's complete memo outlining the coming RFP here.

Previously: Port Wants Pier 29 To Be The Next Ferry Building

The bulkhead building on fire in 2012. Photo: Cole Rise