Fillmore Heritage Center will get new life
After sitting empty for a few years, the Fillmore Heritage Center reopened its doors on Monday.
Two nonprofits — the New Community Leadership Foundation, an African American organization, and the San Francisco Housing Development Corp., an affordable housing developer — plan to bring live music, community events, and housing and financial empowerment workshops to the sprawling building, on Fillmore Street south of Geary Boulevard, over the next six months.
The idea is to activate not only the center itself, but also the surrounding neighborhood, which has long struggled to attract foot traffic to its bars, restaurants and shops.
“Let’s open the doors and let’s give them (the neighborhood) a city building that’s been sitting dark to do some good for the general population,” said District Five Supervisor Vallie Brown, who worked with the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development to reopen the center.
The pilot program is the first step toward permanently activating the Fillmore Heritage Center, beset with problems for years. It opened in 2007 as Yoshi’s jazz club and sushi restaurant, but closed in 2014.
An attempt to resurrect the jazz club under a new name, the Addition, failed a year later. The closures were a big loss for the neighborhood, which long ago was heralded as the “Harlem of the West,” with its numerous jazz clubs and African American-owned businesses.
Brown said the nonprofits will turn the space into an economic and cultural anchor for the neighborhood with its major focus on workshops that will help low-income residents navigate into affordable housing and manage their finances.
David Sobel, executive director of the San Francisco Housing Development Corp., said the nonprofit will offer on-site counselors and workshops on renting, credit repair, rental readiness and first-time home buying.
“For us it is as simple as doing the right thing for the Fillmore community, and ensuring that there are arts and entertainment and food and culture,” he said.
“We are just focusing on making this activation a great success, and laying the groundwork for a community plan for the long term operation and ownership for the site.”
Majeid Crawford of the New Community Leadership Foundation said the group will help the housing development corporation bring nighttime activities — from live music to comedy and poetry — to the space.
“One of the reasons why the Yoshi’s development failed is because it didn’t involve the community in a way. A highend sushi bar in a low-income neighborhood isn’t really the best match,” Crawford said.
“We made it our priority to make sure that whatever happens to it (the space) again, has a strong community benefits program attached to it.”
In February 2017, San Francisco officials began searching for a new operator to breathe life back into the center. But nine months later, they said no suitable bidders had met the standards set by the city and the Fillmore community.
Joaquin Torres, director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, said the six-month trial will help the city see what works best for the neighborhood before committing to a permanent tenant.
“We want to see something active, not just for it’s own sake, but for a greater purpose,” Torres said. “It’s thrilling to have the doors open, the lights on, and people to benefit.”