From District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan:

Alexandria Theater Housing Development Reaches Another Milestone

The City and Alexandria Theater Developer Sign Initial Agreement

Today, Supervisor Connie Chan announced the initial agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), was signed jointly by TimeSpace Alexandria, LLC and the Office of Workforce and Economic Development. Supervisor Chan has long been advocating for the site, located at 5400 Geary Blvd. in the Richmond District, to be developed into housing while preserving the history of the theater. Now with the signed MOU, the City and the developer can continue to work on details to develop the site.  

“The Richmond deserves more housing while having a piece of its history persevered,” said Supervisor Connie Chan, who has represented the Richmond since 2021. “We still have more work ahead of us to get to the finish line, and I am committed to continue supporting this process until we get this done.”

Since Supervisor Chan took office in 2021, she and her team have been working with Mr. Yorke Lee and TimeSpace Alexandria, LLC, historic preservationists, and city staff about options to develop and improve the site. In October 2021, Supervisor Chan worked with Assemblymember Phil Ting and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development to submit an offer to the owner to purchase the site and develop housing, however the offer was ultimately rejected. After a storm damaged the Alexandria’s blade sign in January 2023, Supervisor Chan began negotiating a Development Agreement with the owner to help create a plan to preserve historic elements of the theater and housing for the site. 

“We are excited about this first step of formalizing our partnership with the City to develop Alexandria Theater into housing, and we are dedicated to ongoing efforts to preserve the Theater’s history and character for the Richmond’s benefit,” said Yorke Lee, Owner of TimeSpace Alexandria, LLC.  “We thank Supervisor Chan for her continuing support, and we share her vision to complete this development as soon as possible.”

The Development Agreement will be drafted by the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office and facilitated by the San Francisco Planning Department. TimeSpace Alexandria, LLC has already created a design concept for housing that would preserve historic features of the theater and build 76 units, including on-site affordable housing. 

The original 2,000-seat interior of the Alexandria Theatre was converted to a three-screen multi-plex in 1976 and continued to run new releases until it was shuttered in 2004. Over the past two decades, there have been multiple efforts to develop the space, most recently a plan to turn the theater into a multi-use building including a community pool. This was approved by the San Francisco Planning Department, but due to the pandemic, this plan did not materialize. 

The Alexandria Theatre was built in 1923 in the Egyptian Revival architectural style and designed by one of San Francisco’s leading architectural firms, Reid Brothers. The theater is one of San Francisco’s last remaining historic Neighborhood Movie Palaces, which were known for their bright lights and elaborate character. Its marquee, blade sign, and other character defining features represent the beautiful history of San Francisco.