As part of the Reinventing Cities competition, our team created a community-serving building where people feel welcome and safe. The proposed project relates to City Hall, Civic Center, and the surrounding buildings by complimenting—not mimicking—the historic Beaux Arts architecture. Carefully considered proportions and sensitive selection of materials are key to successfully integrating the project into the neighborhood.

Though limited by the constraints of the zoning envelope, the Hotel for the Arts was aspirational in its plans to activate the underutilized site and deliver a project with numerous community and district benefits. Our proposal is to construct a seven-story building on five (5) parcels at the Civic Center site that creates affordable housing, supports San Francisco’s world-class arts programs, highlights the City’s social, cultural, and environmental values and contributes to the City’s overarching goals for the Civic Center. The mixed-used development will include affordable housing, an arts-themed hotel, a performance space, a restaurant, and green gathering spaces.

The project addresses the need for affordable housing and the Site Specific Requirements by constructing 72 affordable for rent apartment units on-site as part of the development. The units are a mix of studio and one bedroom, ranging in size from 333 to 579 square feet. The residential units are accessed from a dedicated ground floor lobby off the central green space named the Arts Allee. Common open space for residents is provided on a roof terrace with views to City Hall and the Civic Center. Creating affordable housing in the Civic Center addresses Objective 4 of the Civic Center Area Plan and contributes to the affordable housing objectives of the City of San Francisco. To further the City’s goals of providing affordable housing, the project includes a hotel, which will provide millions of dollars annually to the City through the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) that can fund future construction of affordable housing units in perpetuity.

The project additionally provides 149 guest rooms for both nightly stays and short-term residencies. These rooms will serve regional and global arts patrons, tourists to the City, civic events, wedding parties attending ceremonies at City Hall, business travelers for both governmental and non-governmental organizations, and families of local residents. Providing lodging and other hospitality for visiting artists is a significant cost and logistics challenge for local arts organizations. We spoke with SF Opera, SF Symphony, SF Ballet, SFJazz, and the SF Conservatory of Music and were met with enthusiasm for how this facility could help them host international artists and encourage collaboration and creative interactions with artists from diverse backgrounds. The proposed hotel also supports the infrastructure objectives of the Mayor’s Policy Summit Report on Arts and Tourism, creating over 100 jobs, and generating significant tax revenue to the City, percentage of which will directly fund the arts. 

A 2,400-square-foot flexible theater is intended to be an incubator for emerging artists and curated with diverse shows celebrating local performers. Depending on the final program, we would also like to provide artist resources such as practice or teaching rooms, lecture space, etc. We will work with local arts organizations to identify which resources would be most helpful and to manage their coordination and allocation.