For years members of San Francisco's LGBT community have expressed concerns about the "de-gayification" of the city's Castro district.
Multiple forces have led to the gayborhood's losing its LGBT residents and the shuttering of businesses catering to LGBT customers. Skyrocketing real estate prices and owner move-in evictions have conspired to push out long-term LGBT tenants while making the area unaffordable to low-income queer youth.
Changing consumer trends and rising rents have led numerous gay-owned businesses to close. Others have had to overhaul their business plans to attract a new customer base as more straight people moved into the Castro and catering to LGBT visitors became more important to the bottom line.
Ideas for how to maintain the Castro's gay identity have varied over the years, from suggestions of turning Castro Street's sidewalks into faux yellow-brick roads to constructing affordable housing designated for people living with HIV and AIDS, LGBT youths and seniors.
Yet adding gay elements to the Castro is no easy sell.
In recent weeks two projects planned for the Castro aimed directly at gay men have generated a surprising number of negative reactions. And several gay-oriented elements proposed for the redesign of Castro Street and its sidewalks were dropped from the initial plans due to cost constraints.
Let's start with the two brick-and-mortar projects. As the Bay Area Reporter has been covering since October, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation wants to build a nearly 15,000 square foot gay men's health center in the heart of the Castro.
But to do so, the city's largest AIDS agency needs to raise anywhere from $8 million to $10 million to pay for the construction costs and will then need to annually cover the operational expenses. The city's Planning Commission also must sign off on the needed permits as well as a zoning change to allow a non-commercial use of that size in the Castro.
The plans to add a recessed third floor addition to the building at 474 Castro Street have raised some objections among adjacent residents. And despite their recent vote to support the project and zoning change, members of the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro did voice concerns about the final design for the center, which will combine three of the AIDS foundation's programs based in the Castro into one location.
We hope that foundation officials stay true to their pledges to continue working with Castro merchants and residents as they refine their plans and the project's design.
The second proposal for what is billed as a gay male burlesque venue has elicited far more hostile reactions. Called RR-SF, which stands for Randy Rooster, the group of investors has offered $7.7 million to buy 400 Castro Street, where clothing chain Diesel had been housed.
The proponents behind the new business venture, however, have been their own worst enemy. The lack of public information about their plans for the flagship location of what is billed to be a national chain allowed local bloggers to label it a gay strip club and raise eyebrows in the neighborhood.
Their presentation this month to Castro merchants left more questions than answers. It was described as an upscale gay gentlemen's club, with dining available throughout the day. But the entertainment was likened to that at Paris' Crazy Horse, which features half-naked female performers, despite pledges there would be no nudity at RR-SF.
While it makes sense for the company to covet such a prime location in the Castro, more will need to be disclosed before the planned chain of clubs can win over its skeptics.
The one plan that has generated substantial support is to install rainbow crosswalks and embed LGBT factoids (and non-gay facts) about the gayborhood's history into the sidewalks along Castro Street as part of the city's makeover of the area's streetscape. But because of limited funding for the $4 million project, planners nixed those LGBT-centric elements from the plan.
If bids on the street makeover come in lower than expected later this year, then there could be enough funding to add those details back into the plan.
We hope so, as it will be one small step toward ensuring the Castro remains gay-identified for years to come.