Great innovation growing community in the outer sunset. This is kitty corner of underdogs and right on the train. So much fun will be had. Thanks Tom!
An empty church building on a commercial corridor of the Outer Sunset was set to sit empty for years, gathering cobwebs as it awaited the grinding bureaucratic process for its transformation into apartments.
Or, neighbors decided, they could do something different.
Under the city’s Family Zoning Plan, the single-story church at 4114 Judah St. is now zoned for a height of 85 feet. Houston-based developer Ron Avi of Urban Meridian Group bought it at the beginning of the year from Grace Evangelical Free Church of San Francisco for $3.15 million with plans to construct a seven-story building with 45 apartments atop ground-floor retail.
An empty church building on a commercial corridor of the Outer Sunset was set to sit empty for years, gathering cobwebs as it awaited the grinding bureaucratic process for its transformation into apartments.
Or, neighbors decided, they could do something different.
Under the city’s Family Zoning Plan, the single-story church at 4114 Judah St. is now zoned for a height of 85 feet. Houston-based developer Ron Avi of Urban Meridian Group bought it at the beginning of the year from Grace Evangelical Free Church of San Francisco for $3.15 million with plans to construct a seven-story building with 45 apartments atop ground-floor retail.
What Kerbleski has dubbed “Sunset Village” is a DIY gathering space for kids, surfers, buskers, and those who yearn for somewhere to go after 8 p.m. — without leaving the neighborhood.
“I selfishly wanted to put more things out here,” said Kerbleski, who grew up in the Outer Sunset and is raising his children there.
The once-sleepy community is waking up and getting pricier, and its residents are craving interaction. Neighbors are preparing for more construction, driven by economics, relaxed zoning laws, and the popularity of Sunset Dunes.
“Growing up out here, it was always notorious for being an underserved market with nothing to do,” Kerbleski said. “And I think this is a great use of how we can use the building, even if it’s just short term. Three, four years is still enough time. My kids are going to be in college by then.”
The developer has set aside a small pot of funds for tenant improvements. Kerbleski plans to pay the staff who work on the space and the bands who perform there using a share of rent from commercial tenants and ticket proceeds.
The vision involves adding doors and windows and leasing the commercial kitchen to a caterer. Much of the church architecture is being repurposed. A baptism pool attached to the main room will become a bar. A former sanctuary will house a venue for local musicians.
“The congregation hall is about 2,500 square feet, and it’s already wired for audio-video presentations, where literally bands can plug right in and play,” Kerbleski said. The first show will be Friday, headlined by Olas Perdidas(opens in new tab), a coastal Mexican folk band.
Sam Fickinger, a local surfer, musician, and occasional busker at Sunset Dunes (when conditions permit), is in charge of booking musicians.
The Outer Sunset sound leans folk rock, with a “lighter and beachier” vibe, Fickinger said. Artists have been drawn to the Outer Sunset in the past for its affordability. As rents and home prices go up, those communities get squeezed.
“Everyone’s been looking for a place to play,” said Fickinger, who has started bands in Sunset garages and spare rooms. “We more than ever need a space to gather that’s not in our homes.”
Kerbleski and Fickinger painted the sterile sanctuary a deep shade of navy and uncovered skylights that let in the sun when the fog burns off. They want to rip out the carpet — which won’t survive spilled drinks — and tether fairy lights to the ceiling to give the space a warm glow.
Kerbleski said he has reached out to neighbors, and their only concern is stress on the parking supply, which has already been made slimmer by Sunset Dunes. He’s circulating a petition(opens in new tab) to take down a bus shelter outside the church, which he said attracts homeless people.
Elsewhere in the building, Kerbleski is converting side rooms to music studios and retail spaces. So far, he has caught the interest of a florist and a vintage store. A neighbor runs baby-friendly Pilates classes(opens in new tab) two days a week in the concert hall.
The first retail space in the building will be Sunset Variety, which will sell goods created by local craftspeople. It’s being run by Jeana Loraine, the owner of Sealevel Gallery on nearby Irving Street, which hosts meditation circles and craft nights.
The pop-up bazaars she has run in the past will move a block down to Sunset Variety, where the hallways of blank walls are itching for art.
“I already built it,” Loraine said. “I just need a place to put it.”