Wednesday, February 08, 2012

The SFJAZZ Center Arises



After years of discussion and fundraising, the new SFJAZZ Center is going up at the corner of Franklin and Fell Streets.



The plans call for an adjustable concert hall that can accommodate anywhere from 350 to 700 people depending on the concert's setup, along with a sidewalk level cafe, rehearsal spaces, and offices.



The artist's renderings of the building make it look both intimate and spectacular, and a lovely addition to the Hayes Valley neighborhood and its performing arts institutions.



The projected completion and opening is slated for the SFJAZZ spring season next year. That should overlap conveniently with the retrofitting of the Veterans Building and its Herbst Theatre, which is currently slated to shut down in April 2013. Since "World Music" can basically refer to anything, it will be interesting to see if there is any genre-expanding spillover from other institutions who have lost their Herbst Theatre performing space.

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