Supervisor Eric Mar spoke to SFAppeal about some of the plans that have been brewing for the old theater. He said there are designs to install an expansive restaurant and supper club inside the building.
“My understanding in the latest proposal is that they have plans to maintain some of the art deco features in the exterior and the interior. The 8,000 square foot restaurant [they’re planning] is not to interfere with any of the murals,” Mar told SFAppeal.
The Supervisor also said he’d like to see some of the space used for non-profits, and ensure the inclusion of affordable housing in the residential units that are still planned for the back parking lot. His goal is to have 15% of the units designated as affordable housing.
When asked why it’s taken so long – six years – for the Alexandria project to move forward, Supervisor Mar replied, “I’ll just say we have patience with our city departments. But this is one of our priorities.”
Mar is also planning to investigate securing landmark or structure of merit status for the building, which first opened in 1923 and was built by prominent San Francisco architects the Reid Brothers.
The article also states that the environmental review for the project is nearly complete and that they are moving toward publication of the Mitigated Negative Declaration, which once released, is open to public comment.
Read the full story at SFAppeal
So what do you think of the plan to put a restaurant/supper club in the space?
Sarah B.
Might be wonderful. I still miss Pat O’Shea’s at 3rd and Geary every time I drive by…and they’ve been closed now for what — a decade? Was so much fun — good music on Fri/Sat nights — and GREAT music on Sunday night…packed for Sunday brunch, busy at lunchtime and packed for any big sports event. And such a great mix: Irish guys who worked in the trades, USF students, middle-aged businessmen … some of the best amateur soccer players in the City. we really need a place like that again. Geary Blvd has seemed so dead since that theatre closed…I miss the people on the streets at night. Drive down Geary at 10:30 on a Saturday and it feels like you’re in …I don’t know, some boring suburb. We need someplace lively and fun! Beach Chalet is so far away for most Richmond residents and I like Tia’s and Tommy’s but — we need a couple of lively places to keep business in this neighborhood, rather than it all going to Mission St. or the Marina, etc.
I think it’s a great idea,of course if they preserve it’s time-lost allure. If it was to be built around it’s own beauty then I think it would be outstanding. I think forcing modernistic styles upon it would just make it look like a Ford Model-T with neon ground effects and a spoiler.