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Planning Commission approves Equinox adaptive reuse of Metro Theatre, requires conditions and retrofit
Summary
The Commission unanimously approved a conditional-use authorization and associated findings to adaptively reuse the landmark Metro Theatre (2055 Union St.) as an Equinox gym, including required seismic upgrades and two dedicated public-access spaces (a 470-sq-ft community room and a double-volume screening space for up to 18 events per year).
The Planning Commission on Feb. 9 voted unanimously to approve a conditional-use authorization to convert the landmark Metro Theatre (2055 Union St., city landmark No. 261) into a mixed-use Equinox health‑fitness facility with associated interior alterations and seismic retrofit work.
Planning staff (Elizabeth Lotti) recommended approval, citing the building's vacancy since 2006, the Historic Preservation Commission's certificate of appropriateness, and the project's promise to return an active use to the landmark while including community benefits. Staff noted the project would not expand the building envelope but would add interstitial floors and rooftop mechanical enclosures; it also incorporates Historic Preservation Commission conditions and a mitigation monitoring and reporting program to address identified impacts.
Project architect Charles Kahn and sponsor representatives described structural analyses that demonstrate the need for substantial seismic upgrades under current code and noted that the adaptive reuse provides the financial means to preserve the landmark's historic columns and other features. Equinox's John Klein agreed to provide a 470-square-foot community meeting room with independent alley access and to make a larger double-volume theater/screening space available to the public up to 18 times a year.
Supporters from local merchant and neighborhood associations told the Commission they expect the project to bring foot traffic and vitality to Union Street. Historic‑preservation advocates praised the balance between reuse and protection of character-defining elements. Commissioner comments emphasized that insertion of floors and retrofit measures were mitigated in the environmental review and that the project represented an example of constructive compromise between preservation and adaptive reuse.
The motion, amended to reference adoption of the negative declaration and the MMRP, passed on a unanimous roll-call vote.
