An appeal filed Tuesday is blocking the demolition of a burned-out building in North Beach after the owner sought to tear down the entire structure despite approval to remove only a portion of it — further delaying the facelift of a prominent neighborhood eyesore.
The charred husk of 659 Union St. in North Beach, known as the Coit Liquors building, has sat empty since a fire gutted it in 2018. Multiple attempts to redevelop the structure have been met with the San Francisco one-two punch of neighborhood opposition and high construction costs.
Without a plan, the building has been left to deteriorate, carving out a dead zone in an otherwise vibrant, walkable neighborhood with shops and restaurants that is popular with tourists. It’s also a danger to the area, according to a March 18 engineering report on the structure by the Department of Building Inspection.
That report says the building is structurally compromised and unsafe. Unless something is done, there is an imminent risk of collapse that poses a risk to the general public, according to the building inspection report.
“It is only a matter of time before these walls fail under lateral loading,” the report says.
To reduce the risk, Powell Partners LLC, which owns the building, filed a permit on March 27 to remove a 50-foot section of a wall at the back of the structure, which is currently being held up by a jumble of corroded support beams.
The city’s deputy director of historic preservation gave the go-ahead for the wall demolition, but on Tuesday, North Beach resident and tenant advocate Theresa Flandrich filed an appeal arguing the owner was attempting to demolish the entire building.
“The demolition permit was issued to demolish the entire building on the same date, March 27, 2026 and the demolition is currently in progress,” Flandrich wrote in her appeal.
Flandrich’s appeal has since halted all demolition work at the building until a May 27 hearing at City Hall, a victory for neighborhood activists who want to preserve the neighborhood’s character and often oppose attempts to tear down historic buildings.
The Coit Liquors building became a hot topic among preservationists when Red Bridge Partners, led by Jeff Jurow, submitted plans to build an eight-story building on the site that would include 89 apartments, a rooftop restaurant and 5,700 feet of ground-level retail space.
Jurow did not immediately return a request for comment.
Supervisor Danny Sauter has expressed concern that the appeal leaves a dangerous structure standing longer and forces street and transit disruptions to protect the public. A bus stop and sidewalk remain blocked off as part of the demolition work.
Sauter said that while plans for the site can be discussed later, the immediate priority must be safety. He intends to review how appeals are used in emergency situations.
“When we have experts telling us something is an imminent hazard to the public, it is our responsibility as a city to take action,” Sauter said. “I believe we must prioritize safety so that we minimize danger near the property.”
Katharine Petrin, a historic preservationist who lives in the neighborhood, was troubled that no one from the city told her or neighbors about the report.
“I’m clueless about it, but there should be better open communication with the neighborhood,” Petrin said. “People are left to guess what’s going on, and it feels like death by a thousand cuts—we’re going to walk by one day and it’s gone without any real commitment to the agreed-upon plan to keep the facade and rebuild the interior.”