The owners of an 83-unit live/work building in San Francisco's rapidly changing Mid-Market neighborhood have withdrawn an appeal that, if successful, would have cleared the way for a mass eviction of low-income tenants who are mostly artists.
“He hasn’t withdrawn the eviction orders so we’re not claiming this as a total victory, but it is a victory,” said Tommi Avicolli Mecca of the Housing Rights Committee.
John Gall, a former major league baseball player who is one of the owners, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
But a spokesman for the Department of Building Inspection confirmed that an appeal challenging the suspension of a demolition permit at 1049 Market St. was withdrawn this morning. The permit would have allowed the owners to evict the tenants and convert the live/work lofts into offices.
The building is zoned for commercial use and the owners had been trying to bring the units up to code, but claimed they could not "overcome the city of San Francisco’s overly restrictive" residential building requirements.