Preserving Living Heritage for Economic Prosperity 1 · restaurants, diners, and bakeries that have...

Preservation Leadership Forum

1 Preserving Living Heritage for Economic Prosperity


• Recommendations based on information gathered during 2013 community summit, research, and case studies

• 16 domestic and international case studies including government-sponsored programs, public-private partnerships, nonprofit ventures, and community-led initiatives

• Case studies grounded in the fields of economics, policy, marketing, and/or education

• www.sfheritage.org/Cultural-Heritage-Assets-Final.pdf


“From the famous to the humble, more than 50 bars, cafes and billiard halls in Buenos Aires have received special preservation status from the city for their distinctive architecture or history.” “Buenos Aires Spotlights Its Cafes,” New York Times, July 9, 2009

BARES NOTABLES – BUENOS AIRES


BARES NOTABLES – BUENOS AIRES • City provides grants for conservation

projects, distributes window decals, and sponsors plaques.

• The Ministry of Culture and #54Bares (a citizens’ group) promote the initiative through an online map, social media, app, and events.


PROP J: LEGACY BUSINESS HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND

Preserving Living Heritage for Economic Prosperity (and Equity)

• Legacy Businesses on the registry eligible for an annual grant of $500 per full-time employee, up to 100 employees ($50,000 annual cap)

• Landlords also eligible for annual grants equal to $4.50 per square foot (up to 5000 square feet) if they extend leases of a Legacy Business tenant by 10 years or more ($22,500 annual cap)


• More than 75 businesses and nonprofits have been added to registry since 2015

• Long-term leases (10 years or more) eligible for landlord grants encourage tenants to make capital improvements

• Grants average less than $8,000 per year, with about $400,000 total awarded to date

BY THE NUMBERS


Of 51 grants awarded to date, 22 have been used for capital improvements and 17 for rent:

“No one thing will make or break us, but in our business, survival is the opposite of death by a thousand cuts. It’s survival by a thousand improvements.”

Political and marketing benefits:

The designation itself is “way, way more important than giving money to individual retailers or restaurants to continue to fatten the pie or expand it for the landlord.”


• The Invest in Neighborhoods Initiative provides focused, customized assistance to meet the specific needs of San Francisco’s neighborhood commercial corridors.

• Aims to strengthen and revitalize 25 neighborhood commercial districts around the city by marshaling and deploying resources from across multiple departments and nonprofit partners.

• These include economic development services such as loan programs, façade improvement grants, and technical assistance for small businesses.


INVEST IN NEIGHBORHOODS


SPOTLIGHT CHINATOWN • Spotlight Chinatown is a project of the

Chinatown Community Development Center. Its goal is to promote local business, especially those that are impacted by the Central Subway construction, and to highlight Chinatown’s unique neighborhood character through photographs and stories.

• The project is supported by the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.


EAT CHINATOWN • Photo exhibit about classic Chinatown

restaurants, diners, and bakeries that have been operating for at least 40 years

• Features personal narratives, present-day and historic photos and ephemera.

• Focus on mom-and-pop shops, not tourist spots

• Content and photos repurposed on “Spotlight Chinatown” website and postcards profiling individual businesses


“The character and history of the neighborhood is very much reflected in the restaurants: the hand-painted bilingual signs, mash-up of eras, colorful table settings, pink pastry boxes and spaces with a family-run feel.” -- Andria Lo, Photographer

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