"Eyesore" church to make way for condominiums
By: Katie Worth
Examiner Staff Writer
October 16, 2009
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| New plans: The bright blue building for the Church of San Francisco in Noe Valley has been demolished and will be replaced by a six-unit condo development. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Even for San Francisco controversies, this one’s colorful.
A squat and bulky bright-royal blue Noe Valley church was finally demolished this week, following years of legal wrangling and disagreement over its fate.
Many neighbors are glad to see the structure — if not the church — go, said Vicki Rosen, president of Upper Noe Neighbors.
“Of the neighbors I’ve spoken to about it, most people will be glad to have it gone because they think the building’s really unsightly,” she said.
Local residents had complained for years the structure was an eyesore.
The building, a former theater at the corner of Church and 28th streets, was acquired by the nondenominational Church of San Francisco in the 1960s, and in recent years the congregation has been lead by the Rev. Joesiah Bell.
In 2006, Bell began campaigning to raise millions of dollars to build a women’s shelter on the site. But the neighborhood immediately opposed the project for what Bell, who is African-American, characterized as racist reasons.
In 2008 Bell opened up the church as a ministry for homeless men, allowing them to stay there — again garnering complaints from the neighbors, he said.
After the shelter project faltered, Bell said he decided to team up with an East Bay development company to tear down the building and replace it with a six-unit condominium building with street-level retail. In exchange for providing developer James Branch with the title for the property, the church would receive $300,000 toward relocation costs and about $1 million in profits from the deal, Bell said.
But then Bell learned the church no longer held title to the building — and the condo deal fell through.
According to the church’s attorney, Craig Martin, the title had been transferred to a member of the church who had agreed to put her credit behind a refinancing deal. The developers struck a deal with her instead.
Bell claimed the church had been defrauded and took the case to court in 2007. A jury ruled in his favor last year, but an appeals court overturned the ruling.
Finally, in September, the developer evicted the church.
The developer still plans to build condos on the site, but said he doesn’t know when construction will begin.
In any case, the story is far from over, Martin said. The developer has billed the church for $700,000 in attorney’s fees, while the church has filed for bankruptcy protection and is hoping a separate lawsuit will net funds for permanent relocation.
In the meantime, the congregation is meeting at a church on Third Street.
kworth@sfexaminer.com
