The saga of the "Historic Laundromat" in San Francisco finally has a conclusion in sight
Not sure if you guys have heard of this one.
Back in 2014, a laundromat owner submitted permits to demolish his laundromat and build a 75-unit apartment building in Mission District, San Francisco. Preservationists sued to block it on the grounds that the space had been used for community organizing in the past. In 2017, the city forced the owner to fund a $23K, 137-page historic study before his already-approved permit could proceed.
The study found that the building was, in fact, not a historical building but was blocked again on the basis that shadows would partially block a school playground that was already covered by mature trees. I would encourage you to watch the video here, some of the statements in the hearings were absolutely nuts. A shadow study was completed and again found to not be an issue and the property was finally entitled in 2018.
In 2019, the entitled property was sold to a developer for $13M and they demolished the laundromat in 2022. Now, finally, the building is under construction in 2026, slated to be opened in 2028.