The popcorn is long gone, and the projector is dark, but the drama around West Portal’s Empire Theater has never been more alive. Some might even say it’s a dark comedy.
Deidre Von Rock, president of the West Portal Merchants Association, has gathered more than 1,000 signatures for a petition in opposition to a nine-story, 64-unit apartment building that is proposed to replace the beloved movie house — and the signatories, it is fair to say, have feelings. Strong ones.
The petition (opens in new tab), launched last month, takes aim at what Von Rock calls the “grossly oversized” ambitions of the theater’s out-of-town owners. It claims the project would loom like a concrete monolith over a corridor where three stories is the general maximum — a zoning reality the developer, DM Development, has neatly sidestepped by invoking state density housing laws.
The developer is relying on a state law that allows it to bypass local review by including sub-market rate apartments in the project. The law was designed to accelerate housing construction that is often slowed, if not outright halted, by NIMBY activists.
Kris Politopoulos, owner of Invisible Jet Comics and a member of the merchants association, knows the situation intimately. Her shop at 159 West Portal Ave. suffered damage after a fire (opens in new tab) on its one-year anniversary in September 2024, but quickly opened temporarily at 79 West Portal Ave., the building that houses the theater. The original shop reopened (opens in new tab) to customers Jan. 7.
“They’re using a state law to bypass San Francisco — which doesn’t feel great, neither to our city government nor to the neighborhood,” Politopoulos said. The building would block all light from Wawona, the residential street to the west, she said. “It’s only three blocks long. It has incredible foot traffic, which is great, but it’s not a big neighborhood, and to put in a nine-story building is really not going to fit in.”
Similar battles are playing out across the city, including in the Marina, where Align Real Estate wants to construct a 22-story tower above what is currently a Safeway supermarket.
Politopoulos said she could envision a compromise in her neighborhood — six stories, perhaps, with a nod to the building’s century-old character. “If they brought back some of the charm of the facade, or even said they were going to put in a community space, I think that would be a huge step in getting people on their side.”
The petition calls for exactly that: a 500-seat multi-use theater owned or leased by a neighborhood nonprofit, hosting performances, literary events, and family films. With 22 schools within roughly a two-mile radius of the corridor, the need for family-friendly programming is real, Politopoulos said.
Down the block at Eezy Breezy, the gourmet grocery that has anchored West Portal Avenue for decades, manager Maureen Stoss did not mince words. “It can easily wreck the charm and the small independent businesses of West Portal,” she said, citing what she expects will be at least two to three years of construction, as well as likely upgrades for water and sewer infrastructure.
When the Muni tunnel underwent work during the summer of 2024, she said, some businesses lost 70% of their revenue for two months. The prolonged construction on Taraval Street that was devastating to businesses in the Sunset offers another worrying example, Stoss said, adding, “There just won’t be a West Portal left when the construction’s done.” The building would add just 27 parking spaces to a street where parking is already scarce. Her customers, she noted, skew elderly, as well as families with strollers. “If there’s no sidewalk, no way to get around it, people will go somewhere else to shop.”
Perhaps no voice along the corridor carries more weight than that of Pedro Galletti, owner of Mozzarella di Bufala, the Italian-Brazilian restaurant next door to the theater. Galletti has operated there since 1996.
The theater’s owners informed Galletti of their plans before the public announcement, because his restaurant would be affected by construction noise, dust, and the loss of street parking to construction vehicles. He said he also stands to lose storage space he rents in the adjacent building, which is set for demolition — space critical to his operations.
“It’s going to be a major distraction,” he said. “It’s really going to affect my business and probably most of the businesses on the first block.”
Still, Galletti acknowledged that there is a clear demand for housing. “Every time I see a house for sale, the next week it’s already sold. It’s become unaffordable for normal people.” He does not expect the petition to stop the project. “If they get the permits and the city approves it, I’m gonna have to live with it one way or another.”
Merchants often welcome residential development that brings more potential customers. But Stoss worries that even if the neighborhood’s beloved independent businesses survive the construction, they will find themselves priced out of the corridor once it’s over. “The only ones that can afford it will be corporate businesses. You’ll lose all the independent, long-term owner-operators of West Portal.”
The petition is addressed to Mayor Daniel Lurie, whose office has not responded. It also presses District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, whom Von Rock accuses of being the developers’ “champion” while failing to broker a compromise. DM Development did not respond to a request for comment.
“West Portal is a desirable neighborhood to raise a family with proximity to great transit, schools, parks, and local businesses,” Melgar said Thursday. “The Empire project provides an opportunity for young families, renters, and working families to create new memories and bring new foot traffic to this corridor.”
Melgar said she will work with the Planning Department and community members to encourage the developers to choose a building design that “compliments the existing charm and vibrancy of the neighborhood.”
A petition commenter who identified himself as “Colin” noted that the situation evokes the Great Highway closure that Supervisor Joel Engardio championed over constituents’ objections — a saga that ended with his recall at the ballot box. “West Portal neighbors and merchants are not against change,” Colin wrote. “They just want real engagement and compromise before permanent decisions are made.”