Revamped Metreon slated to be restaurant-centric
By: John Upton
March 4, 2009
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| View of the future: The entrance to the Metreon in SoMa is currently on the corner of Fourth and Mission streets, but will be moved to the middle of the block on Fourth. (Courtesy illustration) |
The cavernous electronics-dominated Metreon complex could be reborn as a vibrant restaurant- and retail-focused destination under a planned overhaul approved Tuesday.
Sony recently sold the four-story mall and announced it would close the flagship PlayStation and Sony stores inside.
San Francisco Redevelopment Agency commissioners on Tuesday evening unanimously approved plans by new owners Westfield Group and Forest City Enterprises to rearrange the building to better integrate it with the booming museum district neighborhood in SoMa.
Under the approved plans, shops and restaurants will line the outer perimeter of the ground floor; popular New York restaurant Tavern on the Green will occupy the top floor; a food terrace will face Yerba Buena Gardens; and lights will colorfully illuminate the Fourth Street facade.
The successful cinema complex will remain on the third floor.
The San Francisco Filipino Cultural Center will lease space on the third floor, where it will set up its events and administrative headquarters.
The entrance will be moved from the corner of Fourth and Mission streets to the middle of the block on Fourth Street.
“There are teenage boys weeping all over The City about the demise of the PlayStation store,” Commissioner Francee Covington said during the hearing. “But I think the new retail outlets coming in will be fabulous, and having the entrance off of the street is going to be wonderful, because that entrance has always been a tunnel.”
The corporate might of the mall’s new owners, which also operate the nearby Westfield-branded San Francisco Centre on Market Street, has helped them secure otherwise-elusive financing needed to begin construction in spring, according to Amy Neches, project manager for the Redevelopment Agency, which owns and governs the land.
New storefronts are expected to open in time for the 2010 end-of-year shopping season, and jobs are expected to more than double to 1,100. San Francisco residents will be prioritized in the hiring process, according to Neches.
jupton@sfexaminer.com
