Residential development threatens S.F.'s music, dance clubs Venues threatened with demolition as upscale housing moves in

When Bottom of the Hill opened almost 23 years ago, the neighborhood was "off the beaten path," an owner says. When Bottom of the Hill opened almost 23 years ago, the neighborhood was "off the beaten path," an owner says. Photo: Sam Wolson, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Sam Wolson, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Residential development threatens S.F.'s music, dance clubs 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

The explosion of new housing projects across San Francisco is threatening to pull the plug on music and dance clubs from North of the Panhandle to Potrero Hill to the Mission.

In a city going through a housing crisis, every unit is badly needed. But for live music fans, the pressure is stereophonic.

On the one hand, nightclubs in the path of progress are being targeted for demolition to make way for housing, including the eclectic indie rock venue the Elbo Room on Valencia Street; Cafe Cocomo, a salsa dance bar at 650 Indiana St.; and the Sound Factory, a dance club on Rincon Hill.

Still other club owners are looking over their shoulders uneasily as housing proposals crop up across the street or next door, because residences and nightclubs often don't mix well.

The Independent on Divisadero faces the possibility of new, upscale housing on both sides: the former Harding Theater to the south and the Alouis Auto Radiator shop to the north. Both properties are slated for nine units over retail. The Independent, which started out as the Half Note jazz club, has been around for 60 years.

"We are very much aware of the fact that residential development has the potential to disrupt the way that we operate," said Allen Scott of Another Planet Entertainment, which handles booking and promotion for the club. "We welcome the extension of the commercial corridor on Divisadero Street, but we do so with our eyes wide open."

Negotiating survival

Across the street from the Bottom of the Hill on 17th Street in the Potrero Hill neighborhood, developers are hoping to build 395 units at an old Cor-o-van storage center as well as two smaller projects on Missouri Street around the corner. The smaller projects would include units with decks from which condo owners could peer down at Bottom of the Hill's popular patio.

"For us it seems like development is a train coming down the track," said Tim Benetti, an owner of Bottom of the Hill. "We will do our best to negotiate survival, but if it's too big and comes too fast, I don't know how we are going to negotiate that."

Theoretically, those who choose to move close to a rock club know what they're signing up for. But as every club owner knows, what sounds good in theory is very different at midnight when you have an early appointment or are trying to get your baby back to sleep.

"We have had several people move in behind us and the next day they are calling the police," said Jason Perkins, who owns Brick and Mortar Music Hall on Mission Street as well as the New Parish in Oakland. "We have people moving in who look upon this as a bedroom community. They have to go to bed so they can get up in the morning and get to the Google bus."

The tension between infill housing and nightlife is nothing new. In the 1990s and early 2000s, nightclub owners along 11th Street in SoMa were in frequent conflict with residents moving into new live/work lofts springing up in the area. Those disputes led to the formation of the city's Entertainment Commission to settle disputes, but complaints persisted.

Slim's, on 11th Street between Folsom and Harrison, spent $259,000 on soundproofing and other improvements to try to appease a single neighbor.

"She is still there, and she still complains," said Dawn Holliday, who manages Slim's and the Great American Music Hall. "The police got over her. She was taking away from vital city services."

The situation at Slim's and other SoMa clubs helped influence the zoning in the Western SoMa Community Plan, according to West SoMa resident and neighborhood activist Jim Meko. The final plan creates a special nightlife district along 11th Street where housing is not permitted. It includes a stricter building code that requires developers to do extensive sound testing and a plan to mitigate sound. As new housing pops up in that area, the plan "will lessen the likelihood of complaints significantly," Meko said.

'I like to sleep at night'

George Miller, who lives in the heart of the SoMa nightclub district at 11th and Folsom, spent several years fighting an all-night dance club called V/SF. He said he almost sold his place and moved to Oregon. Instead, he fought, winning five judgments in small claims court and five in San Francisco Superior Court. The club closed, and Miller hasn't had a problem since.

"I'm damn near 80 years old, and I like to sleep at night," he said. "The vast majority of people are decent and sensible and treat their neighbors with respect. So it's not a problem. Sometimes you get a bad apples, and it is a problem. It could be a nightclub or a dog kennel or a 24-hour car wash. That's the way it works."

Club owners might not like to admit it - but nightlife is a factor in gentrification. Bottom of the Hill put Potrero Hill on the map for a generation of hipsters, some of whom ended up living in condo developments in the neighborhood.

When it opened almost 23 years ago, that section of Potrero Hill was so quiet, "you didn't have to look before crossing the street," said Lynn Schwarz, another Bottom of the Hill owner.

"People thought it was ridiculous to put a bar down here, completely off the beaten path," Benetti said. "We struggled mightily. It was tough to pay the bills."

It was the quality of the music that brought people from all over the Bay Area to the club. Green Day, Rancid, Oasis, the Beastie Boys, the White Stripes and the Strokes have all graced the stage.

Hundreds of units planned

The fears over development at the Cor-o-van site emerged four years ago when Walden Development proposed to build a medical office building for Kaiser, in addition to about 200 units. The neighborhood successfully fought that proposal, and Walden came back with a new plan for 395 units without a Kaiser building. Schwarz said the new plan is much preferable to the last one, but still worrisome.

"If you live in a city, you should expect a certain amount of noise and that your sleep is going to be interrupted at times, especially if you move in next to a nightclub," Schwarz said. "It baffles me over and over when we see people move in next to nightclub and are shocked to find out their sleep might be interrupted."

Acoustical awareness

Josh Smith of Walden Development said the "project design team, which includes a top acoustical engineer who is very familiar with the acoustics of the area, is being mindful of Bottom of the Hill and is designing the project in a way that takes the neighborhood, including Bottom of the Hill, into account."

Tom Schindler, senior vice president with Charles Salter, an acoustical consulting firm, said most developers don't do any more soundproofing than they are required to do, except at high-end projects. Even that won't help with noise from the street.

"The club doesn't have that much sway over patrons when they are staggering down the street, but it's still laid at the feet of the club," he said.

The challenge to the nightlife industry isn't going unnoticed at City Hall, said Todd Rufo, director of the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development.

Working with Supervisor Scott Wiener, the agency created NightLifeSF, which is meant to "connect nightlife and entertainment businesses to information about new development projects and help these businesses effectively engage in the planning process in their communities. We believe that nightlife businesses and residents can succeed together," Rufo said.

New resident complains

But Holliday doubts that the city has taken any steps that will protect the city's music scene from residential construction. Already, a resident who bought a $1 million unit last year at 3500 19th St. is complaining about the Chapel, a newer club on Valencia Street, which opened less than a year before the condos.

Even though the Chapel spent money on soundproofing, "We are going to end up with the same problem," Holliday said. "It's baffling."

Jocelyn Kane, who heads the city's Entertainment Commission, acknowledged "there is danger lurking" for the industry. "It's not unique to San Francisco, but it's sad for me personally," she said. "There are not that many live music venues, and we need to keep the ones we have."