The Warfield Building is not the Warfield Theatre, though it’s right next door. And the Warfield Building is also unlikely to become downtown’s first office-to-housing conversion anytime soon, as the building just sold to a new owner who will instead make it an arts and media facility.

Sixth and Market Street’s Warfield Building, which is not the Warfield Theatre, but the larger building that towers over it, was set to become downtown San Francisco’s first office-to-housing conversion. We all figured this would set off a major chain of similar conversions as the office markets languished, though the Warfield Building’s conversion would have only resulted in somewhere between 40 and 50 units.

But it’s not a secret that Sixth Street is a pretty blighted area these days, which is one problem. And there was an even larger problem with the project, as the Warfield Building’s owner Group I was served with a default notice from its lender in March of last year.

And now the conversion may go up in smoke entirely, as the building just sold to a new owner for $7.3 million in a deal that closed Friday. The Chronicle reports that the buyer is the Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST), who are not prioritizing the office-to-housing conversion plans.

Instead, the building will serve as some sort of “media and arts hub” and its anchor tenant will be indie public radio station KALW, who will take up two of the building’s nine floors. And going forward, it will not be known as the Warfield Building, but instead as “Warfield Commons.”

But CAST tells SFist that the housing conversion could happen at some point down the road.

"CAST is not abandoning the conversion plans outright. Housing remains a possibility, but for the immediate future, we’re focused on bringing the Warfield back to life as a place for collaboration, production, and creative operations," a CAST representative tells SFist. "For every prospective space CAST looks at, we consider if the site can be an opportunity for artist housing because anchoring the arts and housing is a critical part of the future of Mid-Market and San Francisco."

The office market downturn has been something of a boon to KALW. Traditionally located at Burton High School in Visitacion Valley, KALW moved its studios downtown in 2023 into one of those vacant-to-vibrant pop-ups. And now they’re an anchor tenant in a downtown office building.

“I think it’s important that the future of downtown San Francisco is built upon organizations that are committed to the city and committed to the area. We’ve been around since 1941,”  KALW executive director James Kass said in a statement to the Chronicle. “All of the organizations that will be in the building are truly committed, and we are not going to leave because economic headwinds change.”

CAST will also be moving into the 48,300-square-foot building, and per the Chronicle, that organization is “in conversation with a number of media and literature organizations about leasing space” there.

“These are the buildings that nonprofits lose out on for lack of finances, ready tenants or complicated partnerships,” CAST CEO Ken Ikeda told the Chron. “We’ve experienced first-hand rejection, even with proof of funds, because nonprofits are seen as unsustainable. This simply isn’t true. KALW is 83 years old and has never been stronger.”

But this sale serves as a reminder of why we’re not seeing many office-to-housing conversions. Even in this economy, it is much more affordable to simply sell the building.

The previous owner Group I’s president and CEO told the Chronicle, “I was waiting for the equity market to come back. And I’m at a point where the value has plummeted and I have to exit to pay my lender.”

Group I bought the building in 2011, and once it hit full occupancy in 2017, it was home to tenants like Match.com and Spotify.

But it’s certainly ironic what has become of the area rewarded with the so-called “Twitter tax break” in 2011. Mid-Market certainly boomed with office tenants, but the blight issues never went away, and may be worse since the pandemic. Now that stretch of town has an estimated office vacancy of nearly 50%, and owners seem to be leasing to modestly funded nonprofits instead of the VC-backed tech companies of old.

Note: This post has been updated with comment from the Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST).

Related: Historic Warfield Building Moves Forward Toward Residential Conversion; Eight Other Downtown Buildings Could Follow [SFist]

Image: Google Street View

While we still may be years out before we see any significant number of residential units hit the market in former downtown office buildings, at least eight landlords of downtown buildings are putting out feelers with the city about converting — and the developer behind 100 Van Ness is eyeing a big building on Spear Street.

The story of the last few years is that lots of downtown SF office space is sitting empty, or half empty, and companies that have the chance to get out of big leases when much of their workforce is now remote are doing just that. This likely won't be the case forever, and certain types of businesses require more face-time and in-person interaction and always will.

Still, some landlords of office buildings in SF may want to escape the office market altogether, and in June, the city put out a Request for Information, seeking to locate these landlords and better understand what their needs and financial obstacles may be.

Today the Chronicle reports that the city received eight responses from SF landlords, and while we don't know the building addresses, we're told "five of the buildings are in the greater Mid-Market and Civic Center neighborhoods; two are in the Financial District and one near Yerba Buena," and all were built before 1967. The total approximate yield of residential units from the buildings would be around 1,100, with the largest building in the bunch being 300 units.

Converting an office tower into residential could involve a full-scale gut down to the frame, which is essentially what happened with 100 Van Ness a decade ago. That building, constructed in 1974 and formerly home to the California State Automobile Association (CSAA), looked very different before developer Emerald Fund stepped in, and it was transformed into the glass-facade building it is now.

Per the Chronicle, Emerald Fund has been actively hunting for another residential-conversion project, and the company's CEO was recently touring 201 Spear Street — an 18-story property built in 1986 that is facing foreclosure.

The only building currently in an active conversion process is the historic Warfield Building — the top five floors of offices above the Warfield Theater and other retail spaces, anyway. The SF Business Times reported on the conversion project last December, and now the Chronicle says that construction drawings have already been submitted to the city and interior demolition work may begin next month. In total, that building will become home to 27 units of new housing.

The building had been home to the offices of Spotify in the last decade, before the company moved out in 2018, reportedly over concerns for worker safety (another indication that those mid-Market blocks weren't so great five years ago when the downtown economy was better either).

Not all developers and building owners see residential conversion as a viable thing, given the complexities and expense involved. Barry DiRaimondo, chairman and CEO of SF-based developer SteelWave, told CNBC in recent weeks that most of these conversions are going to be "unrealistic" in the long-run. And DiRaimondo said his company's play right now is to buy up offices on the cheap and convert them into "office space that people actually want to go to work in."

DiRaimondo adds that the trend of needing to market more state-of-the-art, high-end office spaces in order to make deals has been going on for twenty years. "We've just seen this crescendo [since the pandemic]," he said.

Related: Supervisors Relax Zoning Laws In Union Square and Downtown In Hopes of Filling Vacancies

Photo: Google Street View

Crystal Castles was originally scheduled to play the Warfield tomorrow, October 26, but that performance has been cancelled after former band member Alice Glass accused Ethan Kath of rape and assault in a personal blog post published earlier this week. SFGate reports that other performances in Orange County seem to also have been cancelled, and references to the shows have been pulled from Goldenvoice's website.

In her post, Glass shared details of how she met Kath (also known as Claudio Palmieri), alleging that she was emotionally manipulated, that she was physically and sexually abused, and more, all throughout her tenure with the band. The band itself has existed since 2006, but Glass left the band in 2014, citing "a multitude of reasons both professional and personal." She was then replaced with another vocalist, Edith Frances, and the band continued touring without her.

Glass referenced her departure from the band in her post, writing, "Leaving Crystal Castles was the single most difficult decision I’ve ever made—that band was everything to me. My music, my performances and my fans were all I had in the world. I gave that up and started over not because I wanted to but because I had to." After her departure, Glass spoke out against Kath on at least one occasion, as she commented on an upcoming performance of theirs at a feminism-centric SXSW party hosted by microblogging site Tumblr. Then, she told The Verge, "As someone who knew Ethan Kath on a personal and professional level, it is my opinion that he is not an appropriate artist to be performing at a feminism-centric event." Crystal Castles was later pulled from the lineup.

Kath responded to Glass's recent accusations in a statement sent to Pitchfork though his attorney. He said: "I am outraged and hurt by the recent statements made by Alice about me and our prior relationship. Her story is pure fiction and I am consulting my lawyers as to my legal options. Fortunately, there are many witnesses who can and will confirm that I was never abusive to Alice."

The timing of Glass's post is noteworthy in that it comes at a time when many women, celebrities and otherwise, are sharing their stories of the sexual harassment and abuse they suffered in professional and personal settings. Elsewhere, many women broke their silence about movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, recounting numerous alleged incidents of being harassed and berated by him. This set off a chain of events that would see Weinstein ousted from his own company amidst a multitude of demonstrations, including a prominent hashtag campaign on Twitter full of women speaking up and out against sexual harassment.

None of this is lost on Glass, who wrote in her post that she felt empowered by the demonstrations. "The momentum that’s been created recently by the many courageous women who have opened up about their own stories has inspired me to finally be more direct, at whatever cost," she wrote. "This is for my own recovery, for the other women who have been, are currently, or may be in a similar situation with the man who abused me for years, and for those in abusive relationships who are looking to stand up and speak out."

Related: [Updated] Twitter Says Rose McGowan Suspended Over Tweeted Phone Number, Lifts Ban

After a brief hiatus, SFist's Tenderloin correspondent returns with the latest in a series about the finer points of city lore found in individual street corners. Working our way East, we now find ourselves at the corner of Taylor and Golden Gate, indulging in tubesteaks, meeting the locals and basking in the neon light of the Golden Gate Theatre.

Spectaculars. That’s what the displays were called, neon tubes and flashing bulbs, marquees and blade signs that inverted night and day, glamorous and garish. A quaint term for what must have been spectacular, too. Electric light was made for every main street in America, and what was Market Street but Main Street writ big and vulgar? Where Taylor Street meets Market at Golden Gate, it must have been a hell of a show, the stately Warfield and eponymous Golden Gate Theatre standing astride the northbound street like giants. This set of corners offers less symmetry than previous ones--there are but three--but perhaps you'll forgive the opportunity to slack, given it has been a while since we've walked this beat.

Let's get one thing out of the way: some may remember that the flatiron building currently housing Show Dogs was featured in a film we never finished watching. Thanks to possibly autistic tendencies allowing us to spot cinematic missteps, all we remember from Interview with the Vampire was that rogue 33 Stanyan headed East on Market.

Prior to its tubesteak transfusion, this particular corner went through some other kinds of cursed times. There was the questionable diner where we once were served a vegetarian omelette consisting of broken-up bits of garden burger. This was followed by a Korean noodle cafe where the crinkle of a ramen package being torn open belied claims at homestyle cuisine. We won't go into the food poisoning incident, colorful though it was.
Show Dogs opened in 2009 and may have broken the plague of bad memories, wearing its age well despite being located on a stretch of Market not known for wearing much well. That it's part of the cult of 4505 Meats is helpful, as is the level of care in the condiments, most of which, says the proud man at the grill, are made in-house.

"We do it all: Relish, ketchup, mustard, aioli. The aioli is why I wanted to work here,” he proclaims to a mayo-averse patron.

That unholy emulsion is neither here nor there, for there is another bête noire, one that sneaks between buns and lays in dark pools, innocuous, cloying. Ketchup is a wretched product, no match for its namesake kachiap, historically the Sino-Malaysian fish sauce the British turned into treacly tomato paste. And yet, Show Dogs laces theirs with Serrano chiles, thereby nullifying the lesser qualities of conventional Heinz, reminding us that real ketchup ought to be fortified with a bit of brine and bite. It is a good thing to dip your onion rings in, this improved ketchup (or catsup, or whatever).

Currently being developed by the same firm responsible for the Book Concern Building in U.N. Plaza, the Warfield Building is one of Mid-Market's finer jewels. Unsurprisingly, both the Warfield and Golden Gate Theatres were designed by San Francisco-raised architect Gustave Albert Lansburgh--unsurprising owing to a peculiar coincidence of timing.
After working with Bernard Maybeck at U.C. Berkeley, Lansburgh traveled to France, eventually earning his diploma from the École des Beaux-Arts in March of 1906. Upon returning to the ruins of his city, the architect grew into something of a specialist in theaters, thanks to having received an education in the overscaled and ornate. Given the width of Market Street, scale was of paramount importance, and despite being overbuilt with theatres, the presence of grand architecture heralded a prosperous future. In 1906, over-eagerness could be forgiven, as the intersection was a grand disaster.

Ironically, the overbuilding of entertainment palaces would be the eventual source of a new manner of crisis. By the 1970s, most of Market Street’s movie palaces were down-at-the-heels, succumbing to adult urges, either filmic or fleshly. As an object lesson, next door to the Warfield Theatre we find Crazy Horse Gentlemen’s Club, which began its life as a Nickelodeon. Although hey, great for sex workers, right?

It’s doubtful that the City's current trend toward business monoculture will meet reap a similarly oversexed fate, but it’s worth considering the consequences of overpopulating the city with high-rent specialty stores and restaurants. Growth is good, but so is planning for an economically adverse future.

As for entertainment — adult or otherwise — Market Street is a pageant of its own, dancing men and fighting dogs, hustlers and harried tourists, unintentional comedy and the heartbreak of a hard-lived life. More often than not, you'll find you're part of the show.
The price of admission is a snack or a beer. While you're at Show Dogs' counter, notice that across the street SF Camerawork has unified the building's signage. Pantone-specific branding or gentrification? Discuss.

It's next to the the Warfield Building that we meet Raymond, whose nickname is Mouse.
“Because people underestimate me,” he clarifies. Demanding that he's prettier than the buildings we're shooting, he suggests himself as a suitable subject. He’s got a smile three feet wide but insists on something with a bit more swagger, and settles on an imposing stance. Five poses later, he’s pleased with the outcome.

“We'll take more pictures next time. You come back and see me, hear?” Having seen him around the neighborhood, it's a date we intend to keep.

Previously: All Urbane Studies posts on SFist

This week's concert preview is being brought to you by Kevin Meenan of Epicsauce, providing detailed concert listings for the Bay Area every week. Follow them on Twitter.

Another packed week with sludge metal veterans Big Business at Bottom of the Hill tonight, unapologetic thrash/dance hybrid All Leather at Thee Parkside Tuesday and alt-rock legends Dinosaur Jr. at The Fillmore Friday.

Our weekend pick is Berlin's DJ prodigy Boys Noize at Mighty Saturday. Best known for his epic 2007 remix of Feist's "My Moon My Man," Boys Noize puts a techno spin on the exceedingly repetitive electro genre. Already a giant abroad, our money is on him being one of the few mainstays to emerge from the current round of dance stars. And while his no frills live show may not quite rival that of Daft Punk or Justice on the visuals front, his banger heavy improvised sets are always a good time.

Quite a few other solid calls this week including Bradford Cox's Atlas Sound at Great American Music Hall Tuesday, San Francisco's unusually eclectic Battlehooch at Bottom of the Hill Friday and a string of Jello Biafra appearances in celebration of Alternative Tentacle's 30th anniversary -- as always, be sure to consult the showlist.

Monday, November 2
Big Business, Triclops! @ Bottom of the Hill $12
The Airborne Toxic Event, Everything Must Go @ Fillmore $21
Land of Talk, Eulogies, Nightmare Air @ Cafe Du Nord $10
Farmer Dave Scher, Andy Cabic, Jonathan Rice and Jonathan Wilson @ Independent $15

This week's SFist concert preview brought to you by Epicsauce, who keep track of the local music scene every week just for you.

by Kevin Meenan

Great week for Bay Area live music heads, with the Mission's own Spanish punk quintet La Plebe rocking the legendary Thursday Nite Live series at Eagle Tavern, dance-punk turned disco gods !!! hosting an all out dance party at The Independent Saturday and rising electropop favorites MEN (ex Le Tigre) and Natalie Portman's Shaved Head holding down the Folsom Street Fair on Sunday.

The big story this week, however, is the series of shows celebrating the release of Wallpaper's debut LP Doodoo Face. While it may edge out Weezer's Raditude for the coveted worst title of 2009 award, the synth laden lead off single I Got Soul Wasted (our current Indian Summer jam) hints at the Oakland duo's sound maturing quite a bit since we first gushed over them last year. The tongue-in-cheek auto-tuned vocals of Ricky Reed are still there, but the intentionally low budget production is not -- the album is filled with club ready electro bangers.

The week kicks off with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White playing several just-announced all acoustic sets at Yoshi's Oakland. Then on Thursday, jangly French pop band Phoenix is at The Warfield, and their set will surely include the single "Lisztomania" (video above) from their latest album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. The lyrics are charmingly foreign, including the refrain, "Lisztomania / Think less but see it grow / Like a riot, like a riot, oh ! / I'm not easily offended / It's not hard to let it go / From a mess to the masses." We think it's about socialized medicine, or something. Anyway, it's fun.

Oh, and, uh... Skynyrd, man.

Monday, September 14
Monks of Doom / Penelope Houston Band, Cafe du Nord, $15
Toshio Hirano @ Amnesia, free

This just in: "The Killers have been forced to cancel their show this evening at San Francisco's Warfield due to illness. The show will be rescheduled for December 12th at The Warfield; all tickets from the cancelled show will be honored for this date."

"It's not even on Goldenvoice's page for the show yet," our well-placed source wrote, "For shame."

No word on whether the cancellation is due to illness or "illness."

Press release-y link: "The Killers would like to apologize to their fans for the cancellation."

So all you semi-ironic listeners and non-ironic kiddies will have to do something else tonight instead of tryin' to squint at the stage and kinda-sorta pretend that The Killers were actually Duran Duran circa a brighter completely-idealized utterly-imagined time in the past.

FILM: In Being Michael Madsen, the titular star "turns the tables on notorious paparazzo, Billy Dant, by hiring a trio of documentary filmmakers to chronicle Dant's life, loves, and troubles." Crafty! The film also stars David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, and Virginia Madsen. Screens at The Roxie.

READING: Michael Layne Heath and William Taylor Jr. read in honor of Abraham Lincoln's birthday (and of being our first gay Republican president!) at Dog Eared Books.

* MUSIC: Put on your favorite black t-shit and whitest face powder. The queen has returned. Lead singer of Siouxsie & the Banshees and the Creatures, Siouxsie Sioux has influenced countless goth bands, punk outfits, girl groups, and trannies. Now, after a disastrous performance at the Warfield several years ago, she returns (this time to the Fillmore) for a two-night stay. Her "Mantaray & More Tour" opens with Rasputina.

CLUB: Before Trannyshack bids us adieu , check out the return of former Trannyshacker and current Scissor Sister Ana Matronic for "Ladies Choice" night. For those of you not in the know, the show starts a midnight at The Stud in SOMA.

The listed events were chosen by the editors of SFist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla.