June 25, 2024
Op-Ed by Alan Mark: What San Francisco can learn from Rome about reinvention
Longtime San Francisco residents will tell you that the city has a long history of reinventing itself. From a haven for Gold Rush miners seeking their riches in the 1840s to an outpost — then epicenter — for modern-day miners seeking their fortunes in Big Tech.
Despite infamous historical events over the past half-century, including the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the AIDS crisis, the dot-com bust and the Great Recession, San Francisco has always come back stronger than it was before.
But in this post-pandemic, perceived doom-loop world, even the faithful are starting to wonder: How will San Francisco reinvent itself once again — or can it?
It can. But the city must first dismantle its self-imposed barriers to do so. And in this next iteration, the City by the Bay can look to the City of Seven Hills as it navigates its way forward.
I recently completed work during my second turn as a visiting scholar at the American Academy in Rome, and my time there was eye-opening. My research focused on recent adaptive reuses of buildings and contemporary cultural institutions.
January 16, 2024
Exclusive: Historic S.F. office tower could become housing and a ‘poster child’ for conversions
Consultant Alan Mark, who has worked on more than a half-dozen conversion projects in San Francisco, said the project reminds him of 140 New Montgomery, which was slated to be converted to housing before the Great Recession, but ultimately remained office. The ceiling heights, the double-hung windows and the small floors will combine to make for an elegant residential complex, he said.
“It’s hard to think of a building with such character and sense of history that has been converted,” he said. “It reminds me of some of the grand old New York apartment buildings. It’s breathtaking.” —J.K. Dineen
January 17, 2024
Forge wants to turn SF’s historic Humboldt Bank Building into homes
Its ceiling heights, double-hung windows and small floors will combine to make for an elegant residential complex, according to consultant Alan Mark, who has worked on conversion projects in San Francisco.
“It’s hard to think of a building with such character and sense of history that has been converted,” Mark told the Chronicle. “It reminds me of some of the grand old New York apartment buildings. It’s breathtaking.” —The Real Deal Staff