Grace Evangelical Free Church of San Francisco, located at 4114 Judah St. at 46th Avenue, will ultimately become market-rate housing, its new owner hopes.
But in the meantime, why not boba?
The deal to purchase the former church — a single-story building on a 8,250-square-foot lot — closed in January, according to a deed from the San Francisco Assessor-Recorder.
Its new owner, Avi Ron, founder of the Houston-based developer Urban Meridian Group, bought the building for about $3.5 million, said Thomas Kerbleski, the developer’s consultant who grew up and lives in the Outer Sunset.
The church, which offers Sunday services in both Cantonese and English, will remain at the property for six more months before moving to another building it owns in San Bruno, Kerbleski said.
By July, Kerbleski hopes to have new tenants lined up to transform the space into a temple of small business and occupy the retail space during the years it will take for the city to approve a plan to build housing on the site.
“The over-under optimistic estimate is three years,” he said. “San Francisco should be able to approve it sooner than that.”
Kerbleski has named the property “FLEX SPACE,” and put a survey in circulation, asking neighbors to weigh in on what they would like to see on-site. The options range from “bar/restaurant” to “daycare/school” to “storage/surfboard/wetsuit” to “cafe/boba/ice cream.”
Since starting the outreach last month, Kerbleski has shown the space to half a dozen interested businesses.
“I want to have complementary uses that allow more things to thrive,” Kerbleski said. “If you have an art studio space teaching kids art classes, a boba shop where people can grab a coffee or an ice cream. Then the kids get boba after class. Maybe in the evening, it turns into a wine bar and live music.”
Finding tenants to occupy the ground floor would be relatively easy, Kerbleski said. The church already subdivided much of the building, including a 2,550 square-foot main hall and several smaller spaces. It also has a commercial kitchen.
In the long run, said Kerbleski, Urban Meridian plans to develop the site into market-rate housing with ground-floor retail. Under the city’s new upzoning plan that was signed into law in December, the height limit for the parcel has increased from 40 feet to 85 feet.
While the project could include underground parking, Kerbleski said that would come with high costs and less space on the first floor, due to the need for a driveway. ”The demographic that we’re seeking for apartments will likely want that urban living, and not feel you need a car.”
The plan, he said, is to “do it nice,” with balconies and a rooftop garden. He wants to “make it pretty” and create a place that the neighborhood can have “a lot of pride” in.
The one-story church, at the corner of 46th Avenue and Judah Street, is across from a 7-11 parking lot just three blocks from Ocean Beach. The N-Judah train and the 18-46th Avenue bus both stop in front of it.
The church tried to sell the property about 12 years ago, Kerbleski said, but its members voted against it at the time. About a year and a half ago, the church decided to sell again.
It took a while to find the right buyer, Kerbleski said. “That was pre-election [mayoral and presidential], and in the previous administration. At the time, San Francisco developers were very scared. They didn’t want to spend any money.”
The new upzoning plan is “huge,” he added. But as much as Mayor Daniel Lurie promises to expedite permitting, it is still unclear if the development will move any faster.
“Devil’s in the details,” he said. “It still comes down to the departments to do it.”
This site is “perfect” for redevelopment, he added, “because there are zero businesses being displaced and zero residents being displaced by doing something here.”
Kerbleski said he’s ready to hear all the neighborhood feedback, both in support and opposition. “We want to put it out and hear what people have to say here. The good, the bad, the ugly.”