SF REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION: AN EMBARRASSMENT

THE CITY’S REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IS AN EMBARRASSMENT & IN DISARRAY;
THE FILIPINO COMMUNITY & THE SOUTH OF MARKET HOLD THE
MAYOR ACCOUNTABLE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THE CITY

San Francisco CA, October 30, 2001 — Bindlestiff Studio and members of the South of Market Area and the Filipino community will hold a press conference on Tuesday, October 30, 2001, on the steps of City Hall at 3pm.

Three SF Redevelopment Agency commissioners — Mark Dunlop, Chris Palamountain and Ramon Romero — walked out of the October 23 meeting, dissolving quorum, over the tense debates concerning the development of a residential hotel on the corner of 6th and Howard streets, in the heart of the South of Market area.

For four weeks, San Francisco Redevelopment Commissioners Benny Yee and Leroy King have stalled their commission’s vote to enter into exclusive negotiations with non-profit developer TODCO ("Tenants and Owners Development Corporation") to develop the Plaza Hotel (6th and Howard Streets, San Francisco). At the center of the issue seems to be the recent disbursement from federal and state sources of $200,000,000.00 to the City of San Francisco for affordable housing. With Yee as the president of a real estate company, and affiliations that include private, for-profit brokerage and construction companies, public suspicion is high that the commissioner has a personal agenda in his stonewalling of this proposal. Yee and King have thus far gained concurrent support from Commissioner Darshan Singh. Commissioner Michal Settles has not been present at a prior vote on the issue.

TODCO’s proposal would bring numerous jobs, 115 low-income housing units and the re-modeling of Bindlestiff Studio, the nation’s only Filipino-run performing arts venue. Commission President Yee claims non-profit developers have a "monopoly" on development projects in the area.

Members of The City’s Filipino community — business owners, professionals, cultural arts organizations, residents and students — have worked diligently to preserve Bindlestiff Studio, an internationally-recognized venue for performing arts and a model for the importance of artistic expression by immigrant populations and their families. The members of Bindlestiff Studio have worked closely with TODCO in the remodeling plans for the theater. It is currently located on the ground floor of the Plaza Hotel building.

The Filipino community in the city & county of San Francisco numbers over 40,000. With the Filipino population numbering 1.8 million in the United States (U.S. Census 2000), it is the 2nd largest group in the Asian American community.


The Plaza Hotel…at a Glance

1. The Plaza Hotel is a 2-story residential hotel located at 988 Howard Street and Sixth Street. It contains 34 residential hotel rooms on the 2nd floor and 5 commercial spaces on the 1st floor. Current commercial tenants include Bindlestiff Studio, Maikin’s Deli and the Moving Sale store.

2. The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA) purchased the building in August 2000 as part of its "Sixth Street Acquisition Program" in order to eventually tear the building down and replace it with a new housing and retail spaces.

3. In September 2000 SFRA requested qualification statements from qualified for-profit or non-profit developers who would manage the building before demolition and redevelop it into new housing. Only two statements were submitted. One was from a joint venture between a for-profit and non-profit developer and the other was from TODCO. Only TODCO’s submission was found to be complete. However, in November 2000 SFRA’s Commission decided to start the application process since they were not satisfied with only one complete response.

4. In March 2001 SFRA requested proposals again from for-profit or non-profit developers to redevelop the building into new housing and commercial/community-serving spaces. Only one proposal was submitted. It was from TODCO.

5. TODCO’s proposal is to build 115 mini-studio apartments that 6th Street residential hotel tenants could afford, and include a new theater for Bindlestiff Studio and permanent gallery space for long-standing Asian-American art organization, Kearny Street Workshop.

6. After further community discussion TODCO amended its proposal to assure the current commerical tenants, including Maikin’s Deli, the right to return to the new development.

7. After reviewing TODCO’s proposal, SFRA staff deemed it complete and responsive. They then sought community endorsement of TODCO’s proposal from the South of Market citizen-advisory body to the Redevelopment Agency, the South of Market Project Area Committee (SOMPAC). After extensive subcommittee review, SOMPAC endorsed the TODCO proposal twice in August and September 2001.

8. On October 2, 2001 SFRA staff recommended to the SFRA Commission to enter into Exclusive Negotiations with TODCO for the Plaza Hotel project. Again, the Commission was not satisfied with only one proposal. Commission President Benny Yee criticized the process as favoring non-profits and especially TODCO since the Redevelopment Plan states that the Agency shall give "first consideration to South of Market-based nonprofit development corporations and then to other nonprofit housing development corporations" in the development of Agency-owned land or buildings. Despite 22 public testimonies in favor of TODCO and its proposal, the Commission split its decision in a 3-to-3 vote to proceed with TODCO’s proposal since Commission Michal Foriest Settles was absent. The item failed with a split vote.

9. The following week the community was outraged with the Commission’s vote and started a community campaign to get the item heard again before the Commission. Letters were written and calls made to the Board of Supervisors and calls made to the Mayor demanding that the Plaza Hotel be heard again, but before all 7 Commissioners.

10. On October 9, 2001 the community testified again in favor of TODCO’s proposal and demanded that the Plaza Hotel item be heard before all 7 Commissioners. Commissioner Mark Dunlop made a motion that the Plaza Hotel be heard again the at the following week’s Commission meeting. Commission President Yee claimed that the item could not be heard again since it failed at the last meeting. He questioned the Commission’s Parliamentarian whether Commissioner Dunlop could make such a motion. The Parliamentarian declared yes. The motion passed 6-1 with Commissioner Yee as the only dissenting vote.

11. On October 16, 2001 consideration of TODCO’s proposal was on the Commission agenda again. Since Commissioner Forest Settles was absent, Commissioner Kathryn Palamountain motioned that the agenda item be heard when all 7 commissioners are present. Commission President Yee and Commissioner King argued to get the item over with. The item was not heard that day.

12. On October 23, 2001, three SF Redevelopment Agency
commissioners — Mark Dunlop, Chris Palamountain and Ramon Romero — walked out of the Redevelopment Commission meeting, dissolving quorum, over the tense debates concerning the development of a residential hotel on the corner of 6th and Howard streets, in the heart of the South of Market area.

13. October 30, 2001: Bindlestiff Studio and members of the
South of Market Area and the Filipino community will hold a rally and press conference on Tuesday, October 30, 2001, on the steps of City Hall at 3pm. It is again on the agenda at four o'clock on Tuesday October 30 as "Unfinished Business" from last week's meeting.

For more information, contact Dr. Theo Gonzalves, 415-215-0173, Allan Manalo, 415-334-8840, or Teresa Yanga 415-934-1777 x12.