Harding Theater plan put on hold
By: Katie Worth
Examiner Staff Writer
November 14, 2008
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| Neighbors are contesting a plan that would have largely gutted the historic Harding Theater on Divisadero and replaced it with retail stores and condos. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — A plan that would have largely gutted the historic Harding Theater and replaced it with retail stores and condos faces a setback after officials sided with dozens of people who asked for a more extensive review process.
The 75-year-old theater has been vacant for about five years. In its heyday, it was used as a movie theater, a vaudeville showplace and a live-music venue, before housing a Baptist church for about three decades.
Owners of the building, near Divisadero and Hayes streets, are seeking approval of a plan that would leave the façade and elements of the interior intact, but replace much of the theater with retail, along with an eight-unit condo complex.
The developers initially planned to demolish the building. But after that plan faced opposition four years ago, they produced the current proposal, which they say would be an effective reuse of the building, bringing small businesses and homes to the run-down theater while maintaining the historic structure.
The compromise was unsatisfactory for some preservationists, theater advocates and residents of the Western Addition, who would like to see the theater fully restored.
Friends of 1800, a neighborhood preservation group, appealed the Planning Department’s initial environmental review and asked the Planning Commission for a full review. At Thursday’s hearing, most speakers supported the appeal and all seven commissioners agreed, deciding a full environmental review of the project is due before any further decisions are made.
