What: A nautically-themed, 252-room upscale boutique hotel, with a restaurant, lounge, meeting space, retail shops, and a National Maritime Museum and Visitors Center. The four-story, 180,000 square foot brick structure, which was formerly known as the Haslett Warehouse, was once the largest fruit cannery in the country.

Where: The Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco, across from the Hyde Street Pier between Jefferson and Beach Streets, one block from the San Francisco Bay.

Who: The National Park Service is the owner of the 1907 historic structure. Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group is both the lessee and operator.

When: The hotel opened in August of 2003, after an extensive two-year renovation, and a nearly disastrous fire midway through the conversion.

How much: Kimpton spent approximately $40 million renovating the Haslett Warehouse.

MR&A’s role: As financial advisor to the National Park Service (NPS), Mr. Robinson assisted in the developer selection process in 1998 by conducting the financial evaluation of the competitive hotel development proposals. In 1999 and 2000, he acted as business advisor to NPS in the lease negotiations with the selected developer. Mr. Robinson’s mediation skills, knowledge of hotel economics, and business acumen were invaluable in structuring the 60-year lease.

Results: The Park Service receives annual rent of over one million dollars for the once-neglected and underutilized historic structure, and visitors to Fisherman’s Wharf are treated to the area’s newest and most upscale hotel.