case no. 204 -- request for conditional use authorization? >> good afternoon commissioners, mary woods of department staff. the cu request before you is for development lot size greater than than 10,000 and use size greater than the 10,000. one is the renovation of the existing theatre which consist of the

following. one is a conversion of 3 seats and new retail places with approximately 60 kwartsquare foot on the first floor. on the adjacent surface parking lot a new four story mixed use story will be built and also consist of 122 spaces. the ground floor will be retail. behind the retail will be dwelling uts. the whole building will consist of 37 units. 13 -- 1 bedroom and 63 bedrooms. four of those units will be below market rate housing units. since your last

thursday passionate, we have received two letters expressing concerns about the project and one letter in support of the project. department's recommendation is that you review and prove the staff's mitigated final nag deck and adopt the mitigation measures that are listed in exhibit c and staff also recommend that the commission prove the project with conditions as outlined in exhibit a. this concludes my summary of the project. if you have any questions, i'm happy to answer. thank you. >> i thought you were all going

to take a break after all of that. sorry about the delay. >> i'm the architect for this project and just as a caveat at the beginning some of you know

i have been recently appointed to the historic commission and i was granted a waiver so i can present this afternoon. i got involved in 2006 and got involved in 2010. the alexandria theatre is the landmark on the corner this project includes the adaptive reuse of the historic theatre and then a new mixed use

building on the parking lot site on 18th avenue. so most of you know where this is in the middle of this slide you can see the building with the parking lot on gearey blvd 18th avenue, a picture on the right from 1922. the building was designed in 1922 and completed in 1923. the over all design is it's like the luxor in egypt. they used to the on the tonight of the building which is illuminated that you can see. the architects for the building were the weed brothers in san

francisco as well as around the state. they designed the cliff house, the temple of music in golden gate park and the coronado in san diego. they also designed almost 20 movies theatres in the bay areas and hardy theatre, the balboa theatre and the colosseum has been renovated and the theatre in oakland. so as part of this project the dallas-fort -- adaptive reuse of the project is preserving and you features of the building. the traz oh floor and box office area and along gearey boulevard and in

the 1940s and the marquis signed we would restored and keep in tact on the building. it's on the left. it was interesting how the architects really look at some of the old historic ornament with their art deco version of the 1940s. the interior of the building as i said it was originally an 1800 seat one screen theatre in 1942 of that time. it was down the middle and two small

exteriors were added to the middle. pretty much everything in intact from the 1942 model from the grand stairs with the handrail and the chandelier is original to the building in 1923 and some of the plaques as i have noted and the water front is a fantastic tile still there that is quite nice. so the existing building, this is hard to see, but the existing building has -- do i only have 3 minutes? the existing building has the shots on the gearey side. it's a blank facade. there is a lobby that center is through there and currently the theatre box is in the north end of the building. you go up the stairs, there is a lobby that curves around the

corner and that's the entrance to the two theatres on the second floor. our plans include keeping the interior of the building. we would demolish the 1976 addition and they basically build right up to the murals on the wall do very little damage to the 1942 version of the building when they did that in '76. our goal is to add space to the floor and by building a small 200 seat in the middle and build a platform in the space pulled away from the walls so the

mural can be seen as well as the circular dome in the middle of the space that's also cut in half. we are doing this to have a platform for restaurant use. it would be still dramatic and would be floating in the murals that are there. on the exterior along 18th avenue, the existing building on the top shows some extensive landscaping along 18th avenue which i will have more detail on later as well as new store fronts in the middle where there is now exit doors from the theatre but bring lights inside to glass and make it more visible and how to make it move through building and how to move through commercial spaces in the building. >> a little hard to see but the

section drawings shows the existing conditions above and the design below. we are planning to build a flat floor over the gently sloping floor and these meet the design guidelines so that they are removable in the future if that were to be reused as a theatre. on the existing parking lot there is a 57 car parking lot there and we are proposing to build a mixed use building, the ground floor is a commercial retail space and above a mix of 37, 1, 2, 3 bedroom units . we picked this particular style, mediterranean style with the way the building was built in the 1920s and the housing in that neighborhood and a lot of

it was built at that time and picked up the spanish and mediterranean style. the current sight plan on the left of the building. it's a large lot, almost an acre. this is the proposed sight plan that includes the building on the right. it that is court beyond a reasonable -- yard on the center that has a large courtyard garden in the back. the style, a lot of these pictures, i just came back from spain to pick up on the vocabulary and there is a lot of concern in the public in san francisco that we don't do things that are disney fooid and our goals are that we pick up on the details of the building. that we would use

good quality materials and there would be windows and the columns for the ground floor and tiles around the entrances and cast moldings and trims around the outside of the building. part two level of parking level on the ground and apartment spaces in the back and this community yard, the courtyard at the second level and all these units will have front and back light from the street as well as from the rear yard and then the courtyard. the upper levels then are very similar and then the section you can see the courtyard underneath. so the other piece is the street scape. kind of

forbidding there now. there are no trees there. we have a street scape plan that meet for better sidewalks and sections of the landscapes. that is my presentation. >> thank you, we might have questions. opening up for public comment. ron miguel? ryan sprinkle >> believe it or not this was actually what i was here for today. i would like to very much very much give my appreciation to mary woods who has strug we would this project probably as long as i have. i as president at that time of the planning association for the richmond put together the first public meeting in '04 and have been working with this ever since. as being on and off

the project from time to time and it was a struggle to get an historic architect on the project. neighborhood theatres of this size are the conner stone of commercial neighborhood districts. so you have a special consideration of this project, but there is a couple of things i would like to caution you on. if you were to consider this project as open space, no theatre, just let us say all parking lot or level, the department and the commission would probably require some type of give back to the public in the form of open space. the small triangle that is shown here to me did -- does not meet that concept. it is far too small, the give

back is far too small. that's my first comment. the second one is i have always thought and i have no reason to the absolute that this is a project that will be sold after entitlement and my caution to the department of the commission is that watch out for any major changes at that point this is a very very important project to the richmond district. it is the focal point . i would be very very careful about that. other than that i think the project has finally come to some reasonable degree of the possibility of the neighborhood very much. they want something improved and since it's been

started and that's appreciated. my only other question is whether the commercial spaces are economically viable. i would not like to see the main spaces or the smaller retail spaces to be a drag on the neighborhood. thank you. >> additional speakers? >> good afternoon. i agree with the commercial spaces with the theatre. my name is ryan sprinkle, a resident of the district. my concerns with the commercial space plan for the interior of the alexandria is that our neighbor already has a significant band -- abundance

of mixed use space. the place behind the theatre also includes retail space. this seems like a lot of retail space to if ill when we already have a lot of retail space to fill in our neighborhood . what we really need in our neighborhood is entertainment destination. we don't have entertainment in the neighborhood as is and this theatre is a corner stone of the neighborhood. it is an icon of the neighborhood and i would like to propose and alternative plan which was presented is that we nix the commercial development inside the alexandria entirely and combine this theatre and restaurant into one entity like many other theatres around the bay areas have done. we have kabuki

theatre and which service food and drinks and there is the theatre in portland which i think is similar to the alexandria theatre and both face closure. the theatre was reopened by a chain of group pubs that found success showing second run film and selling cheap tickets and attracting people with delicious food and beverages which is i think is a more viable plan than trying to cram more retail space in a space that already has a problem filling retail space. i have some pictures here to show the baghdad theatre. i don't know if it will show over my phone, but i will try.

you can see in the interior of the theatre there is tables where people can watch the movie while they are eating their food and having their beverages. we can have community events there, we can have live shows, guest speakers, live music and the local schools can do performances on. thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i'm speaking on behalf of myself. sue von. this is a great plan. i'm so happy to see something happening on this corner. this is a place

where i live. i think former commissioner ron miguel made a point about entitlement and the project changing and i think there is a reason why we are watching the ceqa so carefully and the planning commission is going back and review changed plans and the public needs to have the ability to appeal changes and modifications. my main concern with this project is too much parking. we just need to get our heads around this. we just need to figure out how to take public transportation, how to walk and how to ride our bikes. we can do it. we don't need to be so dependent on cars. if we decrease the amount of parking

as close to zero as possible, we will also decrease the cost of each of the units and make it more affordable and that is certainly just top priority for the city, affordable housing and especially in the richmond district. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> good afternoon commissioners, derrick. i want to speak in general support of the project. i don't think i will be alone in saying that it's long over due. i have lived in the district for about 17 years. it's been a travesty that this theatre has remained vacant for over ten years with a n at the -- deterioration.

this current design is a vast improvement and sort of on that note, i would urge the planning department and the planning commissioners to direct the planning department staff to work with this project's sponsor to achieve a successful project that's acceptable to the community. one of those notes in particular, just given that this has been going on for so long, it's been at least ten years that this site has been vacant, it is a dragon -- other local retail. i would respectfully request the planning commission not give in to demands such as we heard from the previous speaker and allow the develop tore --

developer to build a viable project within the guidelines and rules of the planning department. so, reducing parking in a residential development reduces the commercial viability of those unit, reducing parking in a retail development, reduces the profitability of those units, a lot of people don't understand that when a developer builds a project, they need to achieve a specific rate of return required by their investors. if they can not get that required rate of return, no project will be built and this project site will continue to be a blight and an eye sore in the district. i urge you to approve a reasonable project and allow the developer to build what i think is going to be an asset to the neighborhood. thank you very much. >> any additional public

comment? okay. public comment is closed. commissioner antonini? >> i think this is an excellent project and very well crafted. i appreciate the comments of a number of the speakers. i think the first speaker who spoke about a project with the restaurant and theatre combined is a nice idea, but at this point i think we've been through many years to try to craft this into an ability to something that can be built and can make sense. i think it does a lot of good things and it does the type of thing that was done at the marina theatre on chestnut where two smaller theatres on the top and commercial use opt bottom and this combines additions on the restaurant t concern about vacant spaces in the area you have to look at the quality of some of those spaces. some of

them are under utilized and when you have a very high quality customer base they provide some new choices. then i also entirely agree with the last speaker that it's not going to be viable without parking. the parking is pretty moderate. it's one to three units and you have a small number of parking spaces for the commercial. a lot of people will drive by something and if they have to find a parking place, they will not go to the movie or restaurant or the store. you have to be a realist. i think the design is really good in preserving a lot of what was there in the original 1923 theatre. i really like the mediterranean

revival and ceremony with the theatre. the other thing they did there was really quality work. woodwind -- windows and relief with real offsets and balcony. i'm very much in favor. i would make a motion to approve. i see there is another commissioner who wants

to comment. >> i happen to live in this area and grew up around 3 blocks from the area. if any of remember the movie "bad news bears". >> i think it's a great place. the little cafe on california street is for live music and it's a venue for all nights. it's premature to announce who you think might be the operator of this theatre. if it's the lee company or not? >> i did want to comment about the retail space in general. we have had conversations with the

director of the ymca across the street and i don't know if perhaps with the office of work force and economic development there may be a way to d they need and you know if you have gone to that y, it's substantially under, it's very small. they can use the additional space and so that would be a great use, i think we have had conversations with the owner of the ford star theatre about operating it. i think if the y could operate it, you could serve in a community capacity that way. i have will is spoken to a number of two different real estate commercial real estate brokers who said they had restaurant who would be interested in a space like this. and i agree with commissioner antonini about someone once how can you have a restaurant on the upper floor, no one is going to be able