As we first reported two years ago:

While plans to convert the Mission District garage at 3140-3150 16th Street into a massive 20,000-square-foot restaurant and event space dubbed “The Albion on 16th” have been drawn, the building is now back on the market as “an excellent opportunity for an investor to re-purpose the existing building,” but without any approvals having yet to be secured nor a set price.

Purchased for a record-setting $8.7 million back in 2013, at which point Mx3 Ventures was planning to develop a five-story building with up to 25 condos and 8,000 square feet of retail on the parcel, said plans were subsequently abandoned and downsized, which shouldn’t have caught any plugged-in readers by surprise. And the downsized plans were then downsized again.

Keep in mind that while the corner site between Valencia and Guerrero in the Mission is zoned for development up to 55 feet in height, the existing Superior Automotive shop building is considered a historic resource, having been identified as such back in 2004.

As we added last year, “having failed to secure a buyer, the owners, who were seeking $11 million for the “excellent opportunity,” are now seeking “a great long term tenant” for the “historic garage.”

And plans to convert the garage into a private K-8 Elementary School have now formally been submitted to Planning, championed by the Spanish Infusion School, which was formerly known as Marin Prep.

14 thoughts on “Getting Schooled in the Mission”
  1. Let me be not the last to say “god bless san francisco’s historic automotive resources.” If not for the foresight to protect these historic buildings we’d live in a city that would never know the distinctiveness of the vacant superior automotive building.

    But more seriously. This is a great opportunity to aggressively densify this transit rich location.

  2. A private school that will be dark every day after 4 pm and on all weekends and holidays and during the summer. Great use of space on a prime retail/commercial corridor. Champagne all around!

    1. As a heads-up, small private schools go all-in on resource use. Summer camps, summer classes, PTA meetings etc. After school programs for sure. Mommy and Daddy have to work to pay the tuition, junior stays at school until 6pm.

      A use of space that involves good bilingual education seems to me superior to an endless argument about whether we could have a culturally incorrect CVS or a transgender latinx lowrider heritage museum.

      Is there a better way to activate a street front than by making it safe for small kids to use on a regular basis? I don’t think so.

      I would be 100% in favor of tearing down the chop shop and building housing efficiently, but if one must keep the AMAZING FAUX COLUMNS, a school is a good use.

      1. They’re not faux columns, they’re real pilasters….structurally unnecessary, perhaps, but technically correct.

  3. Perhaps they should have a look at the Megan’s Law map before loading this building with kids.

  4. Make it a school – Why not – Add 5 floors of housing on top

    ‘Shaking head’

    And we wonder why there’s housing shortage….. UUghhh

  5. Having over paid an astonishing $348,000 per zoned unit in 2013 (like twice the going rate) the would-be developer is now trying to sell to a private school whose rack rate tuition is $29K for kindergarten and $31K grades 1-8. Hoo boy. Wait until the “protectors” of the Mission figure out who will be going to this school, scholarships or not.

    1. If the “protectors” of the Mission wait until the block in front of this property is bumper-to-bumper with the luxury SUVs driven by the well-off parents of the (largely Anglo) students who are too precious to get to school via public transportation, well, it will be way too late, now won’t it?

  6. say hello to double parked parents! not sure who all these people are that constantly drive or uber/lyft anywhere while living in our most accessible neighborhoods.

    1. Who are these people? AMERICANS, that’s who. Except for a tiny minority of urbanites and those too poor.

  7. It’s up for sale again. As of 1/24/20. Any ideas of what’s up now? I’ve lived on this block for 25 years and I’m SUPER tired of looking at this magnet for graffiti, trash, human waste etc. This block could use a good boost.

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