Blind Org To Sell Old Digs
Yesterday, we told you The LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired is moving to 1155 Market. Well, here's the logical follow-up. It's selling its home of 20 years at 214 Van Ness. CEO Bryan Bashin tells us he expects the sale to close by early September. He hints the future owner may steer away from drab office space and embrace the surrounding cultural and educational district (it's across from the S.F. Symphony). The 13k SF, two-story building has the air rights to go up to around 120 to 130 feet, which means the new owner could build up to 12 stories for a range of uses, he says.
The board considered demoing and rebuilding 214 Van Ness but opted out because new construction would take too long. Now the organization is set to buy the top three floors of 1155 Market for its new 40k SF home. As one of the oldest nonprofits in S.F. (founded pre-earthquake, in 1902), Bryan says they needed to stay in S.F., have more space for new services and private rooms, and be near heavy transit (1155 sits atop BART).
Even though 214 is just three blocks from Civic Center, for the newly blind that walk can be daunting. At 1155, he can throw a stone and hit Uber, Twitter, Dolby, and Spotify. That's a huge plus because they work with tech to create gadgets; in addition, those companies provide jobs for their people, from HR to cafeteria work and in between. Because of mid-Market's community benefit agreements, LightHouse can also get donations and volunteers from those same types of companies to do everything from helping blind people shop to maintaining its Napa camp, currently in session with hundreds of blind kids.
Mark Cavagnero Associates was tapped to design the new space. Bryan loves their S.F. Jazz Center project (pictured), saying the firm gets how to design sensitively without looking like a Fisher Price toy. There are some blind architects and technical staff on the project's team, and one big feature will involve wayfinding. That might mean hearing a sonic cue in the building to walk towards. The move is planned for spring 2015.
