Mayor Lee Announces Strategy to Build on Momentum of Revitalization Efforts in Central Market & Tenderloin
Central Market & Tenderloin Celebrate Milestones Including Youth Nonprofit 826 Valencia Expanding to Tenderloin, ACT’s Strand Theater & Tenderloin Museum
Mayor Edwin M. Lee today announced the new Central Market/Tenderloin Strategy, following a year of community stakeholder input to create a roadmap for shared prosperity in the heart of San Francisco. The Mayor also celebrated significant neighborhood milestones including the anticipated opening of the American Conservatory Theater (ACT)’s Strand Theater and the opening of the new Tenderloin Museum on Eddy Street later this year. Mayor Lee also announced Mission-based youth literary education organization 826 Valencia will expand in the Tenderloin at Leavenworth Street and Golden Gate Avenue, and has raised more than $1.8 million to serve 2,000 young people in the neighborhood.
“Our investment has spurred a transformation of the Central Market and Tenderloin neighborhoods, and, while our work is not done, we will ensure that children and families benefit from cleaner streets, quality businesses, recreation and educational opportunities,” said Mayor Lee. “We welcome 826 Valencia, not only as a valuable resource for Tenderloin youth, but for their contribution to creating a diverse, mixed-income neighborhood that offers safety and well-being to all who live, work and visit here. This is the kind of investment our new Central Market/Tenderloin Strategy aims to cultivate.”
“This pivotal corner, across the street from DeMarillac Academy and the Tenderloin Boys and Girls Club, was previously plagued by one of the worst liquor stores in the City,” said Supervisor Jane Kim. “Welcoming 826 Valencia into this space is a huge victory for the neighborhood and their team will join anchor organizations including the Gubbio Project, St. Anthony’s, Lutheran Services and Larkin Street Youth Services. I also can’t wait to shop in their curiosity shop!”
The new Central Market/Tenderloin Strategy identifies nine “Action Zones” along Central Market, Sixth Street and in the Tenderloin and designates of a set of near-term public and private activities to build a healthy and inclusive neighborhood that supports longtime residents, small businesses, nonprofits and arts organizations as the transformation of Central Market continues. The strategy establishes a partnership between city agencies and community partners, who will implement the Strategy and report on their efforts over the next three years.
The corner of Leavenworth Street and Golden Gate Avenue, once occupied by the former Big Boy Market, is a priority of the new Central Market/Tenderloin Strategy. The arrival of 826 Valencia to this location marks a key milestone in the effort to improve this challenging intersection.
826 Valencia secured their new location after receiving assistance from the City and from community organization partners interested in seeing this resource become available to youth. The designation of the nine Action Zones in 2014, as a lead-up to the new Strategy, helped direct 826 Valencia to this key block, where they will locate a 5,000 square foot tutoring center as well as a retail storefront similar to the pirate store in their Valencia Street location.
“We are ecstatic to join our amazing community partners, government leaders, and local businesses in an effort to positively impact the Tenderloin neighborhood and serve the neighborhood’s students and families,” said 826 Valencia Executive Director Bita Nazarian.
826 Valencia was welcomed by a coalition of nonprofit organizations and unions in the immediate vicinity that, with the help of the Tenderloin Police Station, City agencies, and the Saint Francis Foundation’s Tenderloin Health Improvement Project (TLHIP), has been meeting monthly to initiate positive changes at this challenging intersection. Today’s announcement coincided with the Four Corner Friday event, an effort of community groups under the umbrella Golden Gate Safety Group to “take back the block” and make it safe, activated, clean and inclusive, particularly for the children and youth at nearby DeMarillac Academy and other youth-serving organizations. Participants blow bubbles, do face-painting, play music and enliven 4 intersections with community-building activity.
The transformation along Central Market, in just over three years, has led to 12,000 new employees in the area, 5,600 new housing units permitted or under construction, and dozens of new storefront businesses and arts venues. The economic revitalization is visible on Market Street in new businesses such as The Hall and gleaming renovations such as the soon-to-open Strand Theater. The area also continues to maintain its unique community-serving assets: more than three-quarters of the existing housing stock are permanently affordable or rent reduced, and of the new units being built, 20 percent will be below market rate.
The updated Strategy will leverage the new economic investment along Central Market to benefit low-income communities that live, work and visit the area. The new Central Market/Tenderloin Strategy, developed in concert with the Central Market Community Benefit District, TLHIP, and AECOM, proposes a combination of place-specific “game changer” activities for the nine Action Zones and issue-specific neighborhood-wide activities that improve care for the low-income community, increase economic opportunities, and ensure cleaner and safer shared spaces for everyone. An example of a “game-changer” is Boeddeker Park, which was renovated and reopened in December and is an early success of an interagency, public-private collaborative effort to maintain the park as a safe, clean, and inclusive community asset. Bringing positive sidewalk activity and improved storefront conditions on Golden Gate is another “game-changer”.
For information about Central Market/Tenderloin Strategy, go to: investsf.org/neighborhoods/central-market.
About 826 Valencia
826 Valencia is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced students ages 6 to 18 years old with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. 826 Valencia’s main goals are to close the academic achievement gap for under-served youth in the Bay Area, provide the tools and resources necessary for success in school and beyond, connect caring adults to young people in need of individualized support, and make the path to college and career less of a leap. For more information, go to: 826valencia.org.
“Our investment has spurred a transformation of the Central Market and Tenderloin neighborhoods, and, while our work is not done, we will ensure that children and families benefit from cleaner streets, quality businesses, recreation and educational opportunities,” said Mayor Lee. “We welcome 826 Valencia, not only as a valuable resource for Tenderloin youth, but for their contribution to creating a diverse, mixed-income neighborhood that offers safety and well-being to all who live, work and visit here. This is the kind of investment our new Central Market/Tenderloin Strategy aims to cultivate.”
“This pivotal corner, across the street from DeMarillac Academy and the Tenderloin Boys and Girls Club, was previously plagued by one of the worst liquor stores in the City,” said Supervisor Jane Kim. “Welcoming 826 Valencia into this space is a huge victory for the neighborhood and their team will join anchor organizations including the Gubbio Project, St. Anthony’s, Lutheran Services and Larkin Street Youth Services. I also can’t wait to shop in their curiosity shop!”
The new Central Market/Tenderloin Strategy identifies nine “Action Zones” along Central Market, Sixth Street and in the Tenderloin and designates of a set of near-term public and private activities to build a healthy and inclusive neighborhood that supports longtime residents, small businesses, nonprofits and arts organizations as the transformation of Central Market continues. The strategy establishes a partnership between city agencies and community partners, who will implement the Strategy and report on their efforts over the next three years.
The corner of Leavenworth Street and Golden Gate Avenue, once occupied by the former Big Boy Market, is a priority of the new Central Market/Tenderloin Strategy. The arrival of 826 Valencia to this location marks a key milestone in the effort to improve this challenging intersection.
826 Valencia secured their new location after receiving assistance from the City and from community organization partners interested in seeing this resource become available to youth. The designation of the nine Action Zones in 2014, as a lead-up to the new Strategy, helped direct 826 Valencia to this key block, where they will locate a 5,000 square foot tutoring center as well as a retail storefront similar to the pirate store in their Valencia Street location.
“We are ecstatic to join our amazing community partners, government leaders, and local businesses in an effort to positively impact the Tenderloin neighborhood and serve the neighborhood’s students and families,” said 826 Valencia Executive Director Bita Nazarian.
826 Valencia was welcomed by a coalition of nonprofit organizations and unions in the immediate vicinity that, with the help of the Tenderloin Police Station, City agencies, and the Saint Francis Foundation’s Tenderloin Health Improvement Project (TLHIP), has been meeting monthly to initiate positive changes at this challenging intersection. Today’s announcement coincided with the Four Corner Friday event, an effort of community groups under the umbrella Golden Gate Safety Group to “take back the block” and make it safe, activated, clean and inclusive, particularly for the children and youth at nearby DeMarillac Academy and other youth-serving organizations. Participants blow bubbles, do face-painting, play music and enliven 4 intersections with community-building activity.
The transformation along Central Market, in just over three years, has led to 12,000 new employees in the area, 5,600 new housing units permitted or under construction, and dozens of new storefront businesses and arts venues. The economic revitalization is visible on Market Street in new businesses such as The Hall and gleaming renovations such as the soon-to-open Strand Theater. The area also continues to maintain its unique community-serving assets: more than three-quarters of the existing housing stock are permanently affordable or rent reduced, and of the new units being built, 20 percent will be below market rate.
The updated Strategy will leverage the new economic investment along Central Market to benefit low-income communities that live, work and visit the area. The new Central Market/Tenderloin Strategy, developed in concert with the Central Market Community Benefit District, TLHIP, and AECOM, proposes a combination of place-specific “game changer” activities for the nine Action Zones and issue-specific neighborhood-wide activities that improve care for the low-income community, increase economic opportunities, and ensure cleaner and safer shared spaces for everyone. An example of a “game-changer” is Boeddeker Park, which was renovated and reopened in December and is an early success of an interagency, public-private collaborative effort to maintain the park as a safe, clean, and inclusive community asset. Bringing positive sidewalk activity and improved storefront conditions on Golden Gate is another “game-changer”.
For information about Central Market/Tenderloin Strategy, go to: investsf.org/neighborhoods/central-market.
About 826 Valencia
826 Valencia is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced students ages 6 to 18 years old with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. 826 Valencia’s main goals are to close the academic achievement gap for under-served youth in the Bay Area, provide the tools and resources necessary for success in school and beyond, connect caring adults to young people in need of individualized support, and make the path to college and career less of a leap. For more information, go to: 826valencia.org.