A Bernal Heights fire last June displaced 58 people when it destroyed the Cole Hardware building at 3312 Mission Street and badly damaged neighboring buildings including the Graywood Hotel, an SRO at 3308 Mission Street, and businesses like 3300 Club bar on the corner of that building. But that's actually a great business opportunity to a cynical developer. According to Socketsite, the 3300-3308 Mission Street property, which was totally gutted by the blaze, is "a great opportunity for a developer to reposition the property into a cash cow.̶" That'll be $3.5 million, please.
As Coldwell Banker puts it in a listing, the "property is currently vacated (subject to residential tenant's rights)." Indeed, residents of the 28 Graywood Hotel rooms do have the right to return, but as an example of one possible outcome there, SocketSite points to a Polk Street SRO that got the upscale treatment. That's to say the place, once reserve for the marginally housed, became a "boutique" SRO.
The Graywood Hotel building was last purchased for $1.695 million in 2004, Socketsite writes. Coldwell Banker breaks down the old layout for us: It had six tourist license rooms, which can be rented nightly, and 22 SRO rooms, with two that were "non-conforming." In the building's current state, of course, all these rooms could be reconfigured.
We also learn from the listing and Socketsite that the 3300 Club, though they originally appeared to be gearing up to reopen and were insured, are out of business. "The ground floor previously housed two retail tenants, a bar and a restaurant, and will be delivered free of tenants," reads the listing.
This is just speculation, but whenever this new building does come to life, I wouldn't hold my breath for the return of anything that resembles former tenants like neighborhood spots El Taco Loco and the 3300 Club.
