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Committee recommends landmark designation for Mint Mall and Hall in South of Market
Summary
The Land Use and Transportation Committee recommended local landmark designation of the Mint Mall and Hall (951-957 Mission St.) in South of Market, sending the matter to the full Board of Supervisors as a committee report.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee on Sept. 29 recommended the Mint Mall and Hall at 951-957 Mission Street in South of Market be designated a local landmark and sent the ordinance to the full Board of Supervisors as a committee report.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin (note: transcript speaker identification: Supervisor Dorsey led the item as guest) and planning staff described the Mint Mall as a civic and cultural touchstone for San Francisco's Filipino community. "The Mint Mall is where everyone can find community, no matter who you are," Supervisor Aaron Peskin said during remarks (the item was presented by Supervisor Dorsey as a guest for District 3).
Planning Department staff and the Historic Preservation Commission prepared a designation report that includes historic research, oral histories and photographs. Planning staff noted this is the first landmark nomination in San Francisco to include Tagalog language materials in the official report; staff also indicated the designating ordinance will include certain publicly accessible interior features of the mall in the designation.
Zachary Bridal of SOMCAN summarized oral-history interviews and neighborhood advocacy that saved long-running Filipino businesses from eviction in earlier decades and documented the building's role as a landing place for Filipino immigrants. Longtime tenants and residents testified in public comment, citing the building as their first home in the city and describing multi-generational ties.
The committee voted to recommend the designation as a committee report. The ordinance and supporting record were referred to the full Board of Supervisors for action; the committee also discussed creating an appendix with additional images of residents and participants to include in the administrative record.
The designation does not itself provide funding; it imposes local landmark review requirements on exterior and designated interior features and requires the Planning Department to follow Article 10 procedures for changes to a designated landmark. The committee action was a recommendation to the full board rather than final adoption.
