Congratulations to the Presidio Trust!

I’m delighted to learn that the Presidio Trust, which manages the National Historic Landmark Presidio of San Francisco (California – where hearts are left, etc.) has succeeded in becoming self-sufficient, no longer requiring federal subsidies (See http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Presidio-bridges-gap-to-be-self-sufficient-4266156.php?cmpid=emailarticle&cmpid=emailarticle).  Creating the Trust as the Presidio’s manager, and charging it with gaining self-sufficiency, was a congressional gamble that many in the traditional historic preservation community (notably many in the National Park Service) said would never work.  But it seems to have worked, in that the Trust is now making money through leasing and renting the Presidio’s historic buildings while – not without controversy – maintaining their character-defining features and creating a vibrant, diverse, historically evocative urban space.  There’s plenty of room for argument over individual leasing, rehabilitation, and other management decisions made by the Trust, but overall I think the Trust is to be congratulated on achieving the goal that Congress set for it, and preserving the Presidio as one of San Francisco’s truly distinctive landscapes.