The church at 856 Capp Street. Photo by Lola M. Chavez

A historic church on Capp Street is slated for conversion into residential units, according to new documents submitted to the city.

The plans, which have been in the works since 2015, would preserve the 1927 Mission/Deco style facade of the one-story church at 856 Capp St. between 23rd and 24th streets. A four-story, 40-foot complex would rise behind it and have seven residential units.

The front space will be refurbished but maintained as an “existing institutional use.” That space is shrinking from some 3,100 square feet to 1,500 square feet, however. The residential units will be in the space behind and above the church space.

An earthquake shack — wooden cottages built in the wake of the 1906 earthquake — currently sit behind the church and will be preserved, according to planning documents.

A bungalow behind the church was hit by a fire in 2012, which led to declining membership and the shutdown of the Iglesia del Pacto Evangelico, according to El Tecolote. The property was sold by the Iglesia del Pacto Evangelico in 2014 to the Pacific Southwest Conference, an evangelical church group.

Later that year, the church conference sold the land to Revival LLC, which is developing the residential complex. The public sale price was $525,000. 

It’s unclear when construction on the project will begin — the building owner did not immediately return requests for comment. The units are a mix of one and two-bedrooms. Two of the units have a roof deck.

The project will be all market-rate because only developments with more than 10 units are required to provide affordable units on-site in San Francisco.

Design Plans for 856 Capp. St by MissionLocal on Scribd

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Joe was born in Sweden, where half of his family received asylum after fleeing Pinochet, and then spent his early childhood in Chile; he moved to Oakland when he was eight. He attended Stanford University for political science and worked at Mission Local as a reporter after graduating. He then spent time at YIMBY Action and as a partner for the strategic communications firm The Worker Agency. He rejoined Mission Local as an editor in 2023. You can reach him on Signal @jrivanob.99.

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2 Comments

  1. That’s not cute! I would think that coming from such a long line of Christians and houses of worship, the present owner would be inclined to honor the affordable housing rule, even if it wasn’t reqired. I guess, Revival, LLC is just more concerned with reviving their check book, than with what Jesus would do. (WWJD anyway, by the way?)

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