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Peter Acworth has quietly drafted plans to convert Kink.com’s Armory building at Mission and 14th Streets from fetish porn studio to “traditional office use,” with the 39,000 square foot Drill Court proposed for “spectator sports, arts, or nighttime entertainment.”

San Francisco Armory Drill Court

If approved, the conversion would yield over 140,000 square feet of office space, including 67,000 square feet in the basement of the Armory which is currently used to film the “Arts.”

Acworth purchased the Armory for $14.5 million in 2007, at which time a number of plans to convert the building to condos and commercial space had been proposed and rejected.

18 thoughts on “Plans To Convert Mission Armory From Porn Studio To Office Use”
  1. Maybe the Warriors should play here.
    In any event it is a wonderful space, but won’t that require a rezoning or a variance to allow “traditional office space” at this location. Isn’t it still zoned light industry and/or ancillary uses??

  2. ^ yes, I believe it is. And that is what caused all those insane years of delay. Peter was able to use the building w/o any change use, as his S&M porn happens to fall under light industrial use. Who would have known? And a classic ‘only in SF’ moment.

  3. It is Zoned UMU (Urban Mixed Use), not office-prohibiting PDR (Production Distribution Repair.)
    It is a landmarked historic resource, category A.
    It’s not clear to me why office would be prevented as long as they don’t change the external character from a preservation standpoint.

  4. Personally I am ambivalent about porn using the space as they certainly rescued the Armory from a death due to rot.
    The drill court could make a great space for live entertainment, such as The Fillmore, as that large amount of space is getting hard to find in San Francisco.

  5. How about they chain the techies to their cubicles and stream it over the web?
    My guess is that the Kink studios don’t need all that space. It makes sense to use some of the building for offices, and to use the drill court for concerts.

  6. If this gets approved, I wonder if we will have more anti-gentrification protests complaining how artists are being pushed out of the city….
    It does make me really happy to know that it is a giant porn studio — one of those magically amusing realities of the neighborhood, so it would be sad to see it go — but, apparently it is increasingly difficult to actually make money in the porn industry — so much of it is free, few people pay…..

  7. I saw ACT’s production of “Black Watch” in the drill court last year. It’s a great performance space and I hope it gets more use, regardless of whether the rest of the building goes office.

  8. Ooops – you said the current owner was trying to do this QUIETLY. Now that you’ve spilled the beans, expect decades of debate while this white elephant sits, unused, as no one can make money producing porn anymore.
    Waiting for the ‘homeless advocates’ to propose that this become a gigantic homeless shelter. We can stack 20 or 30 level bunk beds with that ceiling height! 39,000 sq. ft. for safe heroin shooting! And a $3 million grant for homeless advocates to sit at Greyhound depots and educate the newly-arrived homeless – who’ve been given bus tickets to SF by other city governments – about all of the free goodies they’ve won by finding their way here!

  9. I was at their new years eve party. Other than some hiccups getting everyone inside, it was an awesome venue for that. With all the construction we are are losing bars and other venues, while the population is increasing. I’m all for more public entertainment space.

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