Sunset at Ocean Beach, 1/26/15. Photo by @ob-kc
Happy Tuesday, everyone! While the east coast is getting the lion’s share of harsh weather, enjoy last night’s sunset above – and these local links:
- Hoodline has a new article on the coyotes of Golden Gate Park with some nice photos. “Coyote-watchers are encouraged to visit the western end of Golden Gate park at dusk and in the early morning hours. They’re also frequently spotted near North Lake, Ocean Beach, Presidio Golf Course and Land’s End near dawn.”
- It was curtains for Burmese Kitchen but they have found a new home in the neighborhood in the old To Hyang space (3815 Geary near 2nd Avenue). “Though not strictly vegetarian, Burmese Kitchen prominently bills itself as vegetarian-friendly and even has a decent amount of vegan options, with most dishes priced between $6.95-9.50. Hours will be daily from 5-10 p.m., with weekend lunch hours to be announced soon.” [Bold Italic]
- In other food news, a new Asian fusion / sushi restaurant called Red Lantern is getting ready to open at Geary and 22nd Avenue. They’re finishing their build-out according to their Facebook page but no opening date or hints as to the menu yet. Thanks to @cassfung for the tip.
- Not surprisingly, one online publication named the George Washington High School football stadium as one of the top 10 in the country thanks to its amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The field is also “accented by a beautiful 2,500 square foot frieze with panels that depict both ancient and modern sports in the Olympics. Quotations from Plato and other philosophers are also displayed.”
- You might notice some painting and tiling happening on the front of the Busvan buildings on Clement Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues. The improvements aren’t for a new tenant, according to owner Michael B. “We felt that we needed to repaint them to keep them fresh and attractive for our current tenants. The added benefit of retaining their pleasantness is that doing so helps improve the overall look of the Clement portion of the inner Richmond, which is both a business value for Busvan and a personal value for our family,” Michael told us. The project also includes uncovering and restoring some of the original, cobalt blue and black facade tiles that are upwards of 90 years old. Looking good, Busvan!
As a child of the sixties I have to say that as naive youth, another of the qualities of the Washington Football Stadium that we appreciated was that there was a great place under the stands to uh,… alter ones consciousness, though with the wisdom of age we would no longer encourage that sort of irresponsible behavior.
If every Property Owner – Business Owner had the philosophy of the Busvan family this City and this Country would be a better place.
JD, not sure how every property owner leaving their storefront essentially vacant with no services provided would make the city a better place. If we could all be so lucky to inherit a building from our parents i would hope that we would have plans slightly more ambitious than his.
Does anyone know how long Busvan has been vacant? 5 years? 10 years? 15 years? Longer?
Over ten for sure. Maybe 11 or 12?
so is Busvan really empty? According to the article, the owner said “We felt that we needed to repaint them to keep them fresh and attractive for our current tenants.”
So they do currently have tenants?
Just don’t know what’s the deal with that space..
The only things I’ve seen in the old Busvan buildings are the sandwich place and some kind of art exhibits.
Hi all – The owner of the Busvan building actually is landlord to several businesses along that strip (all part of that same building) including Park Life, Seedstore and the bakery. The large space that used to be the furniture store is still vacant and as you noted, sometimes an artist updates the installations in the windows. Michael is always looking for a tenant to take over the space, but it’s not an easy proposition given the size of the space.
Nevertheless, he maintains his properly nicely and that is an important priority to him, which we don’t always see from commercial landlords in this neighborhood. We all know of vacant properties that landlords let go to waste, so I highlighted the work going on at Busvan because it’s a positive thing for the street.
Sarah B.
Nice that the Busvan landlord is trying to keep the building up, but it really would be better to have some additional business(s) in there. Also too bad the neighborhood won’t allow ANY chain stores, as I’d live to walk to the Gap instead of leaving the hood to buy what I want.
@Susan. There used to be a small Gap store on Geary & around 5th Ave (can’t remember exactly which ave). I also agree that it’s a good thing that the Busvan property owner is sprucing up his property. Of course it would be good to have tenants in the space, but obviously there hasn’t yet been a meeting of the minds on the price.
It seems like so many businesses are leaving this area. Purple skunk, mescolanza, Q, that Pho place on Clement, DePlace, Juku, etc. We need something to revive this area so that it competes with other parts of the city that people want to live such as the mission. We don’t have that vibe that attracts the masses who want to actually come all the way out here to visit or move. I hope Eric Mar leaves soon and is replaced by someone who will do something great for this neighborhood.
The problem is the economics.
I know some of the folks who business have left in the last few years. The sense I got from talking with them is that the costs of overhead (leases, insurance, labor rates) have gotten to the point that only two kinds of business can survive over the long haul.
One is high end and expensive with a profit margin that can cover those costs.
The other is very low end with a high throughput that has low margins but has so much volume that it can cover those costs.
The only “middle tier” businesses in the Central Richmond are those that have been around a long time and happen to own their buildings so they are not paying those high overhead numbers for the roof over their head. Or those businesses that that have their whole family working there and they get around most of the labor issues — legally or not.
For decades we all loved the fact that the property in San Francisco is going up in value. We all drove City Hall to not allow for tearing down building and increasing the supply of everything from homes to business space. So the demand-price model did what it was supposed to do and sent leases costs up and up. It also sent rents/housing costs up and up.
Now we have an economic model that will just not support middle tier businesses. Which is why several, of the named business people have mentioned above, have closed.
We got just what we asked for.
The busvan owner should not be applauded for maintaining his commercial space. He should be derided for leaving it empty for almost 15 years.
The reason there isn’t a tenant in there is because the landlord is asking too much per square foot. If he lowered his price there would be a tenant. Period. This story makes it sound like his hands are tied. They aren’t. He could have a new tenant in there tomorrow if he weren’t greedy and cared about the neighborhood.
I have to assume the primary reason he is leaving money on the table is due to a tax write off that does not incentivize asking a rent that a merchant can afford.
An empty storefront is a wasted resource and a blight on the neighborhood that adversely affects us all.
@renee, The former Gap store was between 6th & 7th Avenues and was originally Hermann’s, which was a deli that provided potato salad for hundreds of restaurants all over SF, including Mel’s.
@JD, Your observations are correct and are city-wide. It is city policies that chase property taxes and high wages for entry level jobs (which automatically increase wages for all unionized city workers due to multipliers in contracts), thus increasing annual fees (can’t call them taxes because the voters would have a say) and permits, which increase costs to business and building owners for maintenance and staff and kill off middle tier businesses, unless they are a part of the groups that lobby for their special interests. The ultra-narrow definition of chain store (now global, not regional or national) also limits business entrants unless they file as different legal entities, rotating friends and relatives to board membership, leaves little room for much other than restaurants , produce stores, massage parlors, nail salons (many using this business model) and vacant storefronts.
@Dylan M, Owning and maintaining property under ever-changing rules from City Hall is not a cheap proposition. Base property tax goes up annually at a rate higher than controlled residential rents, any improvement automatically increases the value of the property (at present not purchased value). Labor for maintenance costs 2-5X what it did when the Busvan furniture business closed and inspections and permits from City Hall have multiplied like tribbles with new fees and previously permitted maintenance declared invalid and to be redone from scratch. There is even a special sub-department in City Hall to help non-English speaking small business owners wade through their very special form of bureaucracy, but not that much for native speakers of English. Property owners hands are tied unless they choose to circumvent the laws and are willing to absorb all costs when something terrible happens because their insurers will not cover them.
I really do value the uniqueness of our ‘hood; and the variety of stores – yet I find myself leaving the area often to get things from one of those evil chain stores (or coffee shops) since the business community on Clement won’t allow any chains onto their street. I would much rather the Busvan building house a chain store that employs locals, draws more residents to Clement to shop & offers products no one else on the street sells; then sit empty for 10 more years. It’s about balance – thus why I enjoy shopping on both Chestnut & Union Streets – they are a mix of local & chain stores. San Francisco is also home to many homegrown retail companies whose stores aren’t allowed in many of our neighborhoods like Williams Sonoma, Gap, Gymboree, etc!
@4thGenRichmond: thanks for the clarification
If only Busvan applied that philosophy to their old building on Battery street, I walk buy it on my way to work everyday and it is essentially a homeless encampment.