Fillmore’s long-shuttered Heritage Center will soon temporarily reopen for community programming and events through December. The city is also exploring ways to keep the center open long-term while also evaluating needed upgrades.

The city announced Thursday that San Francisco's long-shuttered Fillmore Heritage Center will temporarily reopen through December for community events, performances, pop-ups, and other public programming led by local artists, small businesses, and neighborhood groups.

Mayor Daniel Lurie said the new plan is intended to support neighborhood businesses and community organizations while reconnecting the center to the Fillmore’s cultural legacy.

“This investment honors the legacy of the Fillmore while creating new opportunities for the people and small businesses that make this neighborhood special,” said Lurie in a statement. “By activating the Fillmore Heritage Center, supporting local artists, entrepreneurs, and bringing more people to the corridor, we are helping strengthen this community and drive San Francisco’s economic comeback.”

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development plans to begin activating the space next month, and it expects to open applications for outside organizers interested in hosting events there starting at the end of June. Officials said the center will not be available for private events.

As SFist reported previously, the Heritage Center, which has sat vacant for several years, was first home to Oakland club Yoshi’s second location when the center opened in 2007. Yoshi’s closed in 2014, and other businesses also failed to stay afloat there in subsequent years.

Last year, the city sued the center’s developer over repayment on a $5.5 million loan for the project, which the developer claimed the city had mismanaged, and the city ultimately accepted a $100,000 settlement.

As the Chronicle reports, the city could also potentially reactivate the 50,000-square-foot complex permanently in the future, including potential infrastructure upgrades and an evaluation of the building’s long-term viability. Officials said the review will examine both the condition of the facility and possible future uses for the site, including whether its original entertainment and dining model is still financially feasible. Selling the property also reportedly remains on the table.

The findings are expected to help shape the Heritage Center’s long-term future as broader debates continue in the Fillmore over redevelopment, public investment, and who controls neighborhood institutions.

Last week, city officials announced that SF Rec and Park would temporarily take over operations at the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center in response to outcry from the community over a proposed no-bid lease agreement that would have transferred management of the vacant facility to Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, a nonprofit currently tied to the ongoing Dream Keeper scandal, as previously reported.

Majeid Crawford, executive director of the New Community Leadership Foundation, the Heritage Center’s previous operator prior to the pandemic, described the reopening effort as an opportunity to bring arts, music, entrepreneurship, and community programming back into the space.

“The Fillmore Heritage Center represents more than a building,” said Crawford, “it represents opportunity, culture, creativity and community restoration.”

Supervisor Bilal Mahmood called the temporary activation a first step toward reversing decades of disinvestment in the Fillmore and said the process will help shape the center’s long-term future.

Previously: Developer of Failed Fillmore Heritage Center Skates With Just a $100K Settlement Over Unpaid $5.5M Loan