Historic Preservation Commission urges renewed support for Old Mint funding amid Central SoMa revisions

The San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission on Aug. 1 discussed recent amendments to the Central SoMa public-benefits package and agreed to press the Board of Supervisors to maintain substantial city funding for the Old Mint.

Planning Department staff told commissioners the plan as adopted by the Planning Commission had included a recommendation to allocate $50,000,000 toward the Old Mint and an additional $50,000,000 for arts and culture programs. Staff said subsequent work and hearings at Board committees produced changes: the planning staff’s proposal that had carried $20,000,000 for the Mint was revised at the Board level after Supervisor Kim proposed creating a $10,000,000 PDR (production, distribution and repair) relocation fund. That proposal would reduce the Mint allocation to $15,000,000 by returning Central SoMa contributions to the 2015 level and take $5,000,000 from environmental sustainability and resilience funding to seed the relocation fund, staff said.

Community members and preservation advocates told the commission the Mint warrants larger city investment. Architectural historian Catherine Petrin said the Old Mint is “the most significant building in San Francisco today, if not the West,” and urged the commission to investigate whether unprogrammed funds remain in the plan budget (Ms. Petrin referenced reports of about $70,000,000 in unprogrammed dollars). Mike Bueller of San Francisco Heritage said community-benefits funding represented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage other sources for the Mint’s rehabilitation.

Commissioners expressed strong support for a proactive statement. Several commissioners said the proposed reductions risked chipping away at the Mint’s match funding and would make it harder to leverage outside grants. After discussion, staff agreed to draft a letter that would restate the commission’s earlier position supporting robust investment in the Mint; Tim Frey (planning staff) said he would prepare a draft for the commission’s signature “by the end of the week.” The commission did not take a formal roll-call vote on the letter but recorded consensus to proceed with drafting and submitting comments to the Board.

Staff noted next procedural dates for the Central SoMa process: a CEQA appeal hearing before the full Board on Sept. 4, return to the Planning Commission on Sept. 6 to consider substantive amendments, and further Land Use Committee and Board hearings in mid-September and beyond. Staff emphasized the public-benefits package shown in the plan is illustrative and nonbinding; allocations will be finalized through later capital-planning and Board approvals.

The commission’s action was limited to authorizing staff to prepare a letter summarizing the commission’s reasons for supporting higher Old Mint funding and requesting continued notification about capital-budget allocations and capital-planning decisions affecting the Mint.