Our old building on 9th Avenue, where we've held meetings for years, has been demolished and a new building is complete.
Our new building looks like many of the other two unit buildings in the area with small "penthouses".... The room on the ground floor will be used for SHARP's meetings.
On the occasion of the DEDICATION OF THE NEW
SHARP COMMUNITY BUILDING AUGUST 30, 2010
SHARP (the Sunset Heights Association of Responsible People) was founded as the Sunset Heights Improvement Club… in 1910, according to a plaque in our archives. … The San Francisco “CALL” and other newspapers of the time refer to The Sunset Heights Improvement Club as far back as 1897 .
The founding members had the foresight to realize the value of owning their own headquarters. First they bought the lot on which our brand new building stands today, around 1910. It is unknown whether "the club" erected the one story clubhouse, that we demolished in 2008, ....or perhaps it was on the lot when the Club bought it... Then, on October 26th, 1951, the South Hall, as it was termed, was Dedicated, following two years of volunteer work by Club members to expand and improve what had been only a "shed"... Eventually two passage doors were cut in the two interior sidewalls, to make, functionally, one building out of what was two buildings, originally. The facade was modified so that, from across the street, it looked like it was one 50 foot wide structure. Legally it was always sitting on "two lots".
By the mid 1990s, the annual cost of maintaining the old structure was growing more, each year, and it was decided that a better course, than annual "patching"....would be to demolish the old Clubhouse and erect a brand new one.... After many hours of discussion and planning by the Board and membership... a great, 50 foot wide, 4 story plan was adopted. It contained 8 apartments, each 2-bedrooms, for Senior Citizens, and a 2 car garage, and complex of rooms for community use on the grade level. ....(the Childcare Center that had been our tenant for 20+ years ...was eager to return as the full time tenant in the new building).. SHARP received unanimous approval, around 2004, from the City Planning Commission.
To our great dismay and frustration, the banks would not loan SHARP the million dollars needed to erect the new building, even though the land was owned "free and clear" of any debt. Capping that was the fact that we were unable to secure any loans or "loan guarantees" from the Federal, State, or City government, as our "8 Senior Apartments over Community Center" was deemed "too small to fit into any such "loan guaranty programs".....
SHARP could have 'thrown in the towel", and gone back to continued existence in the old, "falling down" building. Instead, to our great pain, we sold the south lot, and created a new plan for for what is now dedicated on August 30, 2010...
Oceanic Bank came in, to our rescue, and funded the extra costs, over the sale proceeds of the south lot, when others would not talk to us, as they find "community organizations" too risky.
SHARP's future is now housed in a glorious new building that promises to be here for the next Hundred Years, and many more after that, thanks to the great work of our contractors:
Mr. Kieran Keaney, and Mr. Ze Sheng Liao....
When the mortgage is paid off, about 5 years hence, we shall see what the fruits of our labors can be used to assist...
We hope that all the civic improvement clubs in San Francisco can learn by our successful battle. We DID IT. We ...are "SHARP"...
