Jazz nonprofit wants to build Hayes Valley venue, headquarters
By: John Upton
July 20, 2009
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Swing time: Jazz bands and artists, such as Isaac Delgado, would have a new venue to play in San Francisco if SFJAZZ is able to build a performance hall in Hayes Valley. (Courtesy of Sun Lee )
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SAN FRANCISCO — The jazz that once flourished in San Francisco could be bopping back into The City.
A cashed-up jazz organization that books festivals and performances throughout the Bay Area has released plans to build its own concert hall in the Hayes Valley neighborhood.
SFJAZZ plans to tear down an auto body shop on Franklin Street, between Linden and Fell streets, and replace it with a three-story building for jazz performances, classes and administration headquarters.
The nonprofit runs the San Francisco Jazz Festival, which has grown in its 27 years from a small local event into a fall hit.
The group also organizes jazz concerts at venues including the Herbst, Florence Gould and Palace of Fine Arts theaters.
The bank account of the organization has bulged in recent years, and it recently reported to the California Attorney General’s Office that it had accumulated assets worth nearly $30 million by July 2008.
And, it already owns the site of its future headquarters.
Selection of the site snubs the lackluster Fillmore jazz district, which encompasses the former West Coast jazz capital that was destroyed by 1950s and 1960s redevelopment efforts, in favor of Hayes Valley.
The concert hall will be built close to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center.
The proposed 9,500-square-foot theater includes seating for up to 750 people, with additional standing-room only space, and is expected to host approximately 200 performances a year on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, according to Planning Department documents.
An 800-square-foot multipurpose ensemble space is planned to be used for rehearsals and classes.
The 40-foot-tall headquarters will also feature a box office, gift shop and cafe or a restaurant on the ground floor.
SFJAZZ’s proposal is still in the early stages of The City’s protracted building-approval process, and it’s unclear when construction and concerts would begin.
jupton@sfexaminer.com
