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Planning Commission approves Commonwealth Club’s 110 Embarcadero plan after heated debate over Embarcadero façade
Summary
The San Francisco Planning Commission unanimously approved the Commonwealth Club’s proposal to restore and adaptively reuse 110 Embarcadero, including a third‑floor addition and public auditorium, after extended public comment and requests that the applicant and staff pursue landmarking and robust historic interpretation of the 1934 labor events tied to the site.
The San Francisco Planning Commission voted unanimously on Nov. 13, 2014, to approve the Commonwealth Club’s proposal to rehabilitate 110 Embarcadero, add a third floor and convert the building into a civic home with a 300‑seat auditorium and related program spaces.
The project sponsor, Gloria Duffy, president and CEO of the Commonwealth Club, told commissioners the club plans extensive historic interpretation of the site and programming for public audiences. "The club is, of course, the nation's largest and oldest civic forum," Duffy said, and said the club intends to preserve the Stewart Street facade and to mark the building’s labor‑history significance.
Why it matters: The building sits on a block with deep labor‑history significance tied to the 1934 dock strikes. Opponents argued the proposal’s contemporary Embarcadero facade would alter a historically important waterfront face and could make future landmarking or full restoration more difficult; supporters and labor and trade unions said the club’s long‑term…
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