Performing Arts Building Proposed in Hayes Valley

SFJAZZ is a local nonprofit performing arts organization involved in hosting jazz performances and jazz education. A summary of their mission and goals can be found on their website at: www.sfjazz.org/about/index. asp. They’ve purchased a parcel in Hayes Valley and are proposing to build a new 3-story building for a performance space and offices. The parcel is located on the northwest corner of Fell and Franklin Streets. There’s currently an automotive repair and maintenance business on the site and the buildings that are there now will be replaced. SFJAZZ will build a new state-of-the art jazz performance space, and the building will include offices for about 30-employees, education and rehearsal space, a box office, a small café, and an enclosed loading area on the west side of the property.

The site is an excellent location. It is near the other performing-arts venues in the Civic Center Area, is easily accessible by Muni and BART, and is also relatively easy to access by bicycle. It is just one block from the Hayes Street retail corridor and in walking distance to many fine restaurants. The excellent transitoriented location and the close proximity of the Performance Arts Garage means this project is not required to have parking. The waiving of the requirement to provide parking is beneficial to SFJAZZ because it makes the project more affordable. It lowers the cost of the development as a whole, making the non-profit more capable of undertaking this project. The project will have ample bicycle parking for employees and visitors.

HVNA has not received final drawings for the project but we have this general description: The main entrance for the new building will be on the corner of Fell and Franklin. The café/ restaurant will likely be on the corner of Linden Alley and Franklin, and will be oriented towards the street to enliven the area. The façade of the building will be glass-wrapped on three sides, but there will be a major blank wall on part of the Linden Street side of the building and on the western side of the building where the loading area will be located. The blank wall is an unfortunate side-effect of the configuration of the theater. The HVNA Transportation and Planning (T & P) committee will be working with the developer to mitigate the visual impact of these walls.

This project largely fits with the spirit and intent of the Market and Octavia Plan, and the T & P committee looks forward to hearing more about the project over the next year. The project sponsor is currently working on the architecture of the building. They expect to be ready for a formal presentation to the community in early 2010 and they hope to go before the Planning Commission in Spring 2010.

One disappointing aspect of the current proposal is the lack of housing on the site. HVNA has always advocated for housing in this area, especially for affordable housing. We recognize a need for housing for performers and musicians and other artists that could live within walking distance to work if they could live in the neighborhood. We’d hoped that this project could include housing for musicians and others. SFJAZZ said that they looked into housing but that the addition of housing made the project too expensive for the non-profit. The HVNA T & P committee will continue to advocate for more affordable housing in the neighborhood and seek ways to keep SFJAZZ involved in that endeavor.