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QUARTERLY NEWS AND UPDATES
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San Francisco's New Mayor
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After a tight race between former State Senator Mark Leno and President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors London Breed, Breed prevailed. Mayor Elect Breed addressed the media on the steps of City Hall the morning of the announcement
stating, "I am prepared to make sure that I do everything I can to work together, to bring the Board of Supervisors together, to bring everyone together for the purposes of solving our most challenging problems."
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Mayor Elect London Breed addresses the media as San Francisco Mayor Elect
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CCCBD attends the announcement from Mayor London Breed regarding funding for cleanliness and safety
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Community Benefit Districts Attend Announcement From Mayor London Breed Regarding Additional Budget Investments
In the days following her inauguration, Mayor London Breed thanked the CBDs and other community organizations at her annoucement of adding approximately $725,000 towards the Fix-It Team and those organizations dedicated to City cleanliness and safety. In a press release from the Mayor's Office of Communications, funds will also go towards "increased video surveillance systems for Community Benefit Districts, as a way to discourage public dumping, and provide funding for new locks on residential trash bins for approximately 200 households throughout San Francisco."
Other areas of focus include expanding the Fix-It Team's areas of coverage, additional financial support of the Downtown Streets Team, the installation of 20 BigBelly bins, fencing around public parking lots in an effort to reduce vandalism and graffiti, and the installation solar-powered motion-detection lights adjacent to housing.
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A map of the proposed District boundaries
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CCCBD Renewal Process Begins, Join the Committee
The CCCBD Board of Directors have proactively initiated the Renewal Process a year early.
As part of this process, the CCCBD is looking for property owners within the proposed District boundaries to join
the Renewal Steering Committee and become an active part of the process. Those who join with have direct input on areas such as District boundaries, the organizational budget, types of programs in the District and assessment methods.
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SFPD Appreciation Luncheon
Civic Center Community Benefit District and
Another Planet Entertainment hosted an Officer Appreciation Luncheon at Tenderloin Station to thank the Officers and commend their staff for all their hard work and dedication to the District. CCCBD Board Member and Another Planet Entertainment executive Mary Conde organized the event enjoyed by the Officers and CCCBD staff who work alongside law enforcement throughout the District.
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CCCBD Board member Phil Ginsberg delivers a roasty send-off |
John Updike Retires
After seven years as Director of Real Estate for the City and County of San Francisco John Updike retired in June. Civic Center CBD organized a celebration sponsored by restaurant owner and fellow CBD Board Member Patty Unterman at
Hayes Street Grill. John will remain on the Civic Center Community Benefit District Board of Directors as an Emeritus member and help lead the District's Renewal campaign.
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World Cup Finals viewed at Civic Center Plaza
Soccer fans gathered early on July 15 at Civic Center Plaza to watch the FIFA World Cup Finals on a big screen. The crowd cheered on both teams until it ended with France beating Croatia, 4:2.
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COMMONS BLOCK PARTIES RETURN!
See photos of the events on the Civic Center Commons Flickr page.
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Off the Grid trucks feed the hungry crowds
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Attendees at the first 3rd Thursdays Block Party in June
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Musical performances on the Another Planet Stage
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K
ids and families enjoyed the FREE GAMES provided by Downtown Streets Team
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New Development and Activation of Civic Center in the News
Both the San Francisco Business Times and the San Francisco Chronicle have drawn attention to the changes happening in Civic Center. The SF Business Times highlights the new playgrounds, the pending opening of the Bi-Rite Cafe, and the Asian Art Museum revamp; while the Chronicle focuses the public spaces' uses: the Zak Ové sculpture installation, the playgrounds and the Civic Center Commons' Block Party series.
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Civic Center Public Realm Plan Seeking Community Feedback on Designs
Speaking of changes to Civic Center, the Civic Center Public Realm Plan is still seeking community input. Civic Sanctuary, Culture Connector or Public Platform -- each design highlights the Civic Center Commons' public spaces in different ways -- which one is the best fit? Check out the design plans and fill out the accompanying surveys. Also check out the plans and surveys for potential uses for Brooks Hall and the area's streets and gateways. The plans and surveys are up now through summer.
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San Francisco Public Library Named Best in the Country
It's not just books that make a library -- the
Gale/
LJ
Library of the Year Award acknowledges a great library system extends above and beyond the dewey decimal system. They note in their award press release that the San Francisco Public Library's (SFPL) win for 2018 can be attributed to the system serving as a "model and inspiration for public libraries worldwide" and draws attention to the SFPL's efforts to include all members of the community, curate innovative and thoughtful classes and workshops, and providing services that focus on inclusion.
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Conservatory of Music Receives $46.4 Million Gift
One of the largest donations ever gifted to an American music school, the Conservatory of Music received the generous gift from William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, according the the
New York Times. The gift will fund the construction of the school's new
12-story building spanning 200 Van Ness (an apartment building) and 214 Van Ness (the former Lighthouse for the Blind building). This new building will feature a
ground-floor restaurant, recital hall, student center, student and faculty housing, and 27 apartments for those currently housed in the current building. It's slated to open in 2020.
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Ruth Asawa School Looks to Move to the Neighborhood
Speaking of schools, the
SF Examiner reported plans for an arts center in Civic Center that will house the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts is under development. The architect of the project has met with the Superintendent of SFUSD and the school district is actively seeking funding sources for the nearly $150 million needed for the construction of the school's new campus.
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No Longer Riding Alone: Elevator Attendants Come to Civic Center BART Station
After complaints of the conditions at some of the BART elevators, the agency deployed
elevator attendants at the Civic Center and Powell Stations as part of a six-month pilot program that began in late April.
At the end of the third month of the trial period, because of the program's initial success, BART announced the elevator attendants will remain at the Civic Center and Powell Stations
through 2019. The elevator attendants are there all day -- from 4 am to 1 am -- seven days a week.
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Honda Dealership Revisits Past Life Be
fore Becoming Mixed-Use Building
While some may remember it as the Carousel Ballroom or perhaps Fillmore West, mo
st recentl
y the space at Van Ness and Market was a Honda
Dealership. But for a brief period of time it became a music venue once more, as a
concert was held in the old dealership on June 14 as a fundraiser for
Project Wreckless
, a nonprofit that teaches classic car restoration.
Future plans for the space from
Crescent Heights, developers of the NEMA condos, include plans to transform the lot into building that can accommodate 900+ residences, grou
nd-floor retail, and a below-grade parking garage of 500+ spaces. They are still in the early stages of planning and will host public meetings and workshops as plans progress.
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"Early Days" Statue Goes Back to Appeals Board
The process to remove the "Early Days" statue
continues with the Appeals Board voting to rehear a case from the San Francisco Arts Commission to place the statue in storage. This comes after the first attempt was halted when
a lawyer filed an appeal to stop its removal, based on this wording from a Planning Commission document: "
[T]he spatial relations of the monument and the district will not be altered, as the overall monument will remain in its present location."
The Historic Preservation Committee already voted in February 2018 for the removal of the "Early Days" portion of Pioneer Monument, where
a missionary leans over a Native American in an authoritative stance while pointing to heaven. The date for the Appeals Board rehearing has not been announced.
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Van Ness
Improvement Project
The first quarter of 2018 saw sewer-system installations, and work on joint trenches to power the overhead wires for buses along the Van Ness corridor. At the end of the quarter, it was announced that the left turn on Van Ness at Hayes would be removed July 6, leaving northbound at Lombard Street and southbound at Broadway as the only left turns allowed on the street.
For more information on the project,
check out the informational
video, and visit the
SFMTA site.
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Investor buys 1390 Market St. in a
$110 million deal
The 29-story building formerly known as Fox Plaza has new owners: Swift Partners. According to the San Francisco Business Times, "Swift plans on sprucing up the building's lobby, common areas and exterior and has hired on Cushman & Wakefield to handle the office and retail leasing."
Swift Partners Asset Manager Tommy Christman adds,
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We believe 1390 Market has the potential to be Mid-Market's premiere multi-tenant [retail, office and residential] destination."
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Plans for 30 Van Ness Take Shape
The newly refined plans for the 520 feet tall building that's slated for Van Ness and Market will feature 610 apartments, 153 of which will permanently remain below-market-rate units, a garage with 244 car space and 281 bike spots. The ground-floor will feature retail, and there will also be eight floors of office space. Socketsite notes: "The City of San Francisco is currently slated to occupy the existing building at 30 Van Ness until
the 1500 Mission Street development is finished, which is currently slated to occur around 2020." No timetable has been determined for construction.
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The French American International School to Double Height
The draft design plans submitted to the City for 98 Franklin envisioned a building at a maximum height of 160 feet tall, but the school is requesting to double the height as it lies within the
San Francisco's Market Street HUB Project lines, which allows buildings of up to 600 feet. At 320 feet,
Socketsite notes the school would feature 70,000 of campus space, a 150 car garage, ground-floor retail space and 300 housing units. Construction is slated to begin in 2020.
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State of the San Francisco Retail Sector
Strategic Economics recently prepared a report for the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development on the "State of the Retail Sector: Challenges and Opportunities for San Francisco's Neighborhood Commercial Districts."
The summary provided analysis on national retail trends, their impact on the San Francisco market, challenges specific to the San Francisco market and best practices for commercial districts, among other findings.
Read the complete executive summary
here.
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COMMONS BLOCK PARTIES ON 3rd Thursdays & 1st Sundays
As noted above, the Civic Center Commons fantastic Block Parties are back. The 3rd Thursdays Block Party is a great stop for Happy Hour -- grab a drink and listen to the live music, the remaining dates for this season are: August 16, September 20 and October 18. The 1st Sundays Block Party is a great brunch spot (without the long lines!) and there's plenty for kids to do too! The remaining dates this season are: August 5, September 2, October 7 and November 4.
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Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness |
San Francisco Arts Commission Hosting Major Exhibition by Zak
Ové at Civic Center Plaza This Summer
Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness, a 40-piece temporary installation by acclaimed British-Trinidadian artist
Zak Ové, is now on display in Civic Center Plaza. The first exhibition of the piece in the United States, it will remain in the plaza through October. The work, presented by the
San Francisco Arts Commission, in partnership with
San Francisco Park and Recreation Department, features identical 6.5 feet tall sculptures of men with their hands raised and is a commentary on issues such as race, politics and identity.
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