By Thomas K. Pendergast

After two decades lying derelict on Geary Boulevard as a virtual tomb decorated by graffiti hieroglyphs and faded peeling paint, the Alexandria Theater building might come back to life, but this time with more than 70 units of housing.

A proposed ordinance to amend San Francisco’s Planning Code and Zoning Map by establishing the Alexandria Theater Special Use District (SUD) was passed unanimously by the San Francisco Planning Commission and is expected to go through the SF Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee before landing in front of the full board on May 6.

The proposed SUD would allow a density bonus and modifications to existing zoning controls for a residential development within it, thus laying a solid legal foundation to proceed with the project.

District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan told the commission she regretted the usual percentage of inclusionary, low-rent housing required for such projects was lowered from 15% to 12% but this compromise increased the number of family-oriented housing units.

“The majority of these units are actually two to three bedrooms,” Chan said. “It’s really what the Richmond needs – more family housing. On the ground floor it’s commercial.”

Architects are still developing the project; however, the department’s preliminary report says no less than 60% of the total number of proposed dwelling units will contain at least two bedrooms, and no less than 20% of the total number of proposed dwelling units will contain at least three bedrooms.

“We really look forward to seeing this developer build this site in the next two years upon the passage of this legislation,” Chan said.

Tina Tam, the department’s team manager, said the proposed SUD would specifically:

• Increase the total allowable building height from 40 to 85 feet.

• Eliminate the unit density maximum.

• Reduce the required rear yard from 25% of lot depth to 15 feet; reduce the dwelling unit exposure by allowing units to face into the reduced rear yard.

• Increase the number of family-sized units from 35% to 80%.

• Reduce the inclusionary rate requirement from 15% to 12%

• Eliminate Conditional Use Requirements for change-of-use or demolition of a movie theater

At this point, the theater is not officially a national, state or local landmark, so it does not enjoy any special protected status, although it is considered a “known historic resource.”

“The proposed unit mix and reduced inclusionary rate will make development more feasible, while also prioritizing family-sized units on the property,” Tam said. “And lastly, the provisions to retain key historic features will ensure that this part of Geary Boulevard’s past will be preserved for future generations.”

Tam said the property owner will have three years from the effective date of the ordinance to obtain a building permit to construct the residential project or the SUD will end.

“In the meantime, the Planning Department will continue to monitor and work with the project team on the protection and stabilization of the building.”

Nick Colla, an attorney representing the property owners’ group TimeSpace Alexandria LLC and the primary owner, Yorke Lee, told the committee that they are ready to move ahead with the development.

“We are committed to submitting a project application pursuant to this SUD so that we can activate this space,” Colla said. “We could preserve existing key historic elements of the property. We could create more housing with a retail component that will generate foot traffic in the neighborhood and better serve the community.”

He assured them that the blade sign taken down after a storm damaged it would be replaced; they will preserve the interior murals and the chandelier will be reinstalled.

The five stories height will be maintained along Geary, but an additional three stories will be set back about 15 feet further away from that side. They will keep the original bulk and mass of the theater with the blade sign and marquee remaining on the corner.

“The building itself has that curved corner and we’re looking to replicate it on the upper stories that we’re adding at (floors) six, seven and eight; and then the 15-foot setback, in accordance with the proposed SUD, which gives us the light and air to some of the units on the second-through-eighth stories of the building, right south of the existing apartment buildings that Mr. Yorke (Lee) built earlier,” architect Irving Gonzales told the commission.

“The forms will pretty much recall the historical shape of the theater itself and we’re looking to meet our commitment to provide for the community a public-serving set of spaces.

“The two murals, that are almost 19-feet tall, will fit in one of the commercial spaces and then where the ticket booth is, we’re looking at that as possibly being a retail commercial space,” he said.

Planning Department documents show the theater was designed by Reid Brothers architects using an Egyptian Revivalist style and opened on Nov. 26, 1923, with a single-screen auditorium that had a unique, concrete bowl-shaped floor which seated 2,000 people.

In 1942, stepped seating was added to the auditorium and Art Deco interior ornamentation was installed, while a large blade sign and marquee were mounted outside along with terrazzo paving in the entry area.

In 1976, the auditorium was subdivided into three theaters with two smaller, upper-level theaters on a new balcony deck.

The theater closed in 2004 and has been sitting vacant ever since. There were three attempts to develop the property – two of those approved by the department – yet ultimately none of them were successful.

After a group of investors bought it, they proposed keeping the building but expanding the second floor to include a restaurant, while keeping one of the theater screens to accommodate 221 to 250 seats. The ground floor would have been converted into retail spaces, with a series of openings through the east side facade to create store fronts.

This plan had the support of the district supervisor at the time, Eric Mar, but for reasons that remain unclear, that plan was never developed.

In 2015 Yorke Lee took possession of the property and proposed a building with a “swimming center” featuring two pools on the first floor, a “learning center” on the second floor and a “business center” on a third floor.

The department approved the plan in October of 2019, however, a few months later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and places like public swimming pools were among the first to get shut down. So, after that, investor funding evaporated and momentum for the project went down the drain.

“I have been involved with this project for 21 years,” said Stephen “Woody” LaBounty, president and CEO of San Francisco Heritage. “When the theater closed in 2004, I attended a meeting right after to try to find a future for this building, which is very much a place-maker for the Central Richmond District.

“I’ve worked with four district supervisors. I think Tina Tam and I have worked on it the entire time,” LaBounty said. “I have supported both projects that were approved by the Planning Commission and we (SF Heritage) are very happy with housing on this site. We are very happy with this building being adapted for reuse. It has been left to lie fallow and deteriorate for more than 20 years.”

“(The theater) still has a lot of integrity inside,” he said. “I hope that Mr. Lee and his team … I just implore them to get moving on this for the neighborhood, for this building’s important history, so that the Richmond District can have the housing and the beautiful, beautiful Alexandria Theater building back to enjoy for future generations.”