More on the Harding Theatre

Today's Examiner also covers a few of the details surrounding the Harding Theatre being put back on the market.

"Developer Michael Klestoff said he still plans to knock down the rear portion of the building to make room for a nine-condominium development, while selling off the front part of the building, which contains the single-screen theater he and co-owner Patrick Stack agreed to preserve after a long battle with neighbors."

They also spoke to Supervisor Mirkarimi, "who brokered the compromise in which the developers agreed to scale back the size of their condo development and preserve the important parts of the old theater. Mirkarimi says the price was too high. The owners paid $1.6 million for the entire building in 2003."

"The price is so high it will likely dissuade any buyer who has the community interest at heart," said Mirkarimi, who represents the neighborhood at City Hall.

Well, what did you think would happen? Did you think that Klestoff would just roll over and give it back to the city for $1.6M? He's splitting the lot on Divisadero from the one on Hayes, which is probably worth close to $1M on its own, and selling the front theatre building (on Divisadero) for $2.35M. If anyone was really concerned about it, why didn't they deal with it two years ago? The real estate market has changed and if anyone wants this building, they will have to come up with market rate finances. Plain and simple.

I would love to see a theatre in that location, but I'm also realistic about what is destined to happen when neighbors wait too long to complain and think that they can turn back the clock. It would be setting a really bad precedent for future housing development if the city tries to determine what a property should be sold for. All that will do is create a more vicious market among the properties that aren't on the city's radar. Once again, Econ 101.