The building that once housed Pearl Art and Craft Supplies at 969 Market St. is reopening to the public tomorrow as a multifaceted work-, event-, and play space marketed at tech companies, otherwise known as The Village. Inside Scoop reported that owner Jonathan Rowe oversaw a $4 million buildout revamping the old arts supply store into a three-floor compound that spreads over 17,000 sq ft., with a capacity for 1,300 people. The Village will contain a basement brewpub and dance club, "experience design center" (aka fancy wording for coworking spaces), as well as a video production studio, conference space, and "an organic food cafe," according to the website. It sounds like the bar and restaurant need more time to open, but the events space throws open its doors tomorrow night.
To get a sense of the vibe Rowe is going after, you only have to look at his client base. He runs a successful event production company called Madrone Studios that's worked with Instagram, Google, Facebook, and Rowe's new neighbor, Twitter, among others. In a press release, the company touts a pre-Outside Lands party with Chromeo and Holy Ghost for Pay Pal as drawing "the type of high profile audiences The Village hopes to attract." And on The Village site, its mission is full of industry buzzwords: "Our event space provides a place for events such as conferences, product launches, activations, immersions, and more."
Rowe told Inside Scoop: “It’s a great opportunity to help out San Francisco and put something in the center of Mid-Market. It’s still pretty dirty down there but I think it’s transforming quickly and a great opportunity to be in the mix.”
It'll be interesting to see what sort of impact The Village has on Mid Market, as the neighborhood is rapidly transformed by the places the tech industry is working, living, and now playing.
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Image from Madrone Studios