SFAF Looks at More Space for Strut

The doors to Strut, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation's new gay and bi men's health center, haven't even opened, yet the agency is already exploring the possibility of taking over additional retail space in the Castro.

SFAF is considering expanding into a former grocery store next to the center.

The agency announced in September that it would open Strut, its new health facility at 470 Castro Street, in October. It now looks like the center will open next month.

But the large open areas of Strut, which officials previewed for the Bay Area Reporter last month, may not be enough, and SFAF officials are talking to city planning staff about possibly expanding into 468 Castro Street, which used to house A.G. Ferrari Foods.

According to information filed with the planning department in mid-October, SFAF "would like to expand programming into the ground floor retail space of 468 Castro Street and use the space to host community meetings and events as well as to hold group meetings for various programs."

Andrew Hattori, a spokesman for the AIDS agency, told the B.A.R. that the process is in its "very, very early exploratory" phase, and Strut may not even need to expand.

"We filed an application with the planning department to ask for a project review meeting," which is "the first step," Hattori said. The discussion was set for Wednesday, October 28.

SFAF announced in 2012 that it would move the popular Magnet program, which provides HIV testing and other services, and other programs to a new facility at 470 Castro, which had housed a video shop and office space.

The agency is "still waiting for our clinical license" for Strut from the state's health department so it can determine a specific opening date, Hattori said this week. Health officials need to perform a site visit, and "to my knowledge" that hasn't happened, he said.

After programs move into the center, which has about 15,000 square feet of space, the nonprofit may need more room, Hattori said.

"We're looking at what our needs are and want to learn more about what [468 Castro] offers," he said. "We really don't know what we would have there."

City records indicate the space is 2,500 square feet. Because it is larger than 2,000 square feet, the nonprofit would have to apply for conditional use authorization.

The news site Hoodline first reported the development.

SFAF, which has a budget of about $29 million, also doesn't know if 468 Castro is for sale or lease, Hattori said. The B.A.R. wasn't able to reach anyone associated with the retail space.

As for Castro merchants, the head of the local business group told the B.A.R. that no one from SFAF has yet approached his group.

"I really, really support the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, and I really want it to remain retail," Castro Merchants President Daniel Bergerac said Tuesday in a brief phone interview, referring to the A.G. Ferrari space.

He said he would like to see something like a small food court go into the space, with perhaps six or seven vendors.

When the AIDS agency announced its health center's name in September, it had raised $12.2 million of the $15 million needed for programmatic expansion and renovation costs for the center.

Hattori said that the most recent information he has is that the nonprofit has $2.7 million left to raise. All of the remainder will go toward operating programs at Strut.

SFAF is also looking to replace outgoing CEO Neil Giuliano, who was recently hired as CEO of Greater Phoenix Leadership, a business organization focused on civic improvement initiatives. Hattori said SFAF has engaged the executive search firm Egon Zehnder to help with the CEO search process. A call to the firm wasn't immediately returned.