Aging San Francisco Buildings Face Relaxed Restrictions

San Francisco’s vacant historic buildings could go from being relics to fresh real estate.

Mayor Daniel Lurie introduced legislation that would make it easier for businesses like nonprofits, retailers, movie theaters and nightlife operators to set up shop in one of the city’s approximately 300 historic buildings without having to endure lengthy approval processes, the San Francisco Examiner reported.

Lurie’s proposed legislation aims to deal with the reality that tenants in historic buildings foot the bill for repairs requiring specialized, nonstandard materials and the maintenance of aging utility systems. Preservation standards currently in place, which keep buildings’ historic character and prevent certain alterations to these structures, also present a hurdle to potential tenants.

While those preservation protections won’t be going anywhere, Lurie is looking to attract tenants to officially designated historic buildings with special incentives for businesses and nonprofits to operate in landmarked buildings. The city would enable such activity by relaxing zoning rules dictating what types of business operations can take place in a given neighborhood.

Take the historic St. Joseph’s Church building in South of Market. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the structure sat damaged and unoccupied for decades. In 2018, the St. Joseph’s Arts Society reopened the building as a performance and cultural events venue. Since then, the city of San Francisco has implemented more incentive programs for historic buildings in specific neighborhoods, hoping to recreate the rebirth of St. Joseph’s Church.

“Adding greater flexibility for these special buildings will ensure they won’t fall into disrepair due to disinvestment,” the Mayor’s Office said of the proposal.

The Tenderloin Museum could be another candidate for a St. Joseph’s-style renaissance under Lurie’s new proposal, part of his PermitSF initiative designed to cut red tape across the city to spur development.

Earlier this year, the nonprofit museum at Eddy and Leavenworth Streets announced expansion plans that would triple its operating footprint to approximately 10,000 square feet on the first floor of the historic Cadillac Hotel building, complete with a new special exhibition room and a new neon sign gallery. But because of restrictions limiting size to such projects, the expansion project would have to get special approval from the city’s Planning Commission. Lurie’s proposal would allow such an endeavor to proceed without further public review.

For now, Lurie’s legislation awaits public review.

— Chris Malone Méndez