“From the Ashes, We Will Rise”
22nd and Mission Street Fires
Cover Photographer: Saraí Montes
by Alejandra Rubio
April 4, 2025
On January 28, 2015 I watched as the Mission Market on 2588 Mission St. went up in flames from my apartment window on 21st and Capp. I was 16 at the time involved with youth advocacy spaces where we learned and talked about gentrification in San Francisco’s working class neighborhoods. Up until the night of the fire ‘gentrification’ was just a concept- but on that night I understood it as a lived reality.
My family, friends, and I joined the community in watching the firefighters work on putting out the fire. The Mission Market was home to 30+ local businesses, 60+ people that somehow lived in 17 dwellings. We watched the fire and began to feel the weight of the grief settle in with the realization that this fire took people’s home, their belongings, and one person’s life- Mauricio Orellana. I began thinking about all the businesses that I never got the chance to visit and the loss of the Popeyes where you could occasionally find a wandering pigeon.
On that night I realized how quickly gentrification worked with the fire taking place a few months after the VIDA condominiums were built next door. I found it suspicious and knew that this property would follow suit and propose market rate units leading to the potential loss of an entire block on Mission St. to gentrification. This assumption was affirmed as the building was left to decay resulting in two additional fires.
The secondary fire took place on the night of March 13, 2016 a little over a year after the first fire. In that year the building was left to decay, unsecured from the public, despite DBI requesting that the property be demolished due to concerns of public safety in the case of an earthquake. This secondary fire was reported to be caused by squatters although no one was found in the building when SFFD arrived. The third fire took place only a few weeks later on April 24, 2016 likely caused by a cigarette butt from the Vida apartments next door as mentioned in the Mission Local.
The cause of the first fire is unclear till this day, a mission local article notes that the fire department said it was an electrical issue within the walls. Most recently Hawk Lou’s defense team (the owner of the property) said at the Planning Commission meeting on February 6th, 2025 that it was a boiling pot that spilled over. Many other safety concerns were raised from displaced tenants such as the absence of fire alarms alerting to the fire and blocked fire escapes.
It is only after the third fire that Hawk Lou secured the property and the remaining part of the charred building began to be demolished after DBI raised public safety concerns. Before that Hawk Lou had filed for permits to rebuild from the original foundation but they were never approved due to missing documentation. City and private engineers agreed that repairs to the building from the first fire could have been made if it were not left to decay. Community members grew concerned over previous tenants’ right to return. Community advocates such as United to Save the Mission, Our Mission No Eviction, and organizations like MEDA began working together to inquire about potentially purchasing the property to develop 100% below-market rate affordable housing units and grant previous tenants the right to return if they wanted it. But the property owner priced the property at $20 million and instead Hawk Lou chose to develop the property himself along with IB+A design.
Over the years community advocates have continued to advocate for the right to return of previous tenants as it has remained unclear over the years as new market rate projects have been proposed. On January 29, 2019 Mission local asked Lily Madjus Wu, a Department of Building Inspection spokeswoman about the demolition, and she stated that a portion of the original structure remained. But ultimately DBI had to decide between issuing a permit for “alteration” to the property- keeping the right to return intact vs. a “new construction” permit meaning no part of the original building would be left intact losing the right to return. But on June 23, 2021 Hawk Lou and his team proposed a 9 story building with 148 units, 28 being affordable and the permits for this project were issued under “new construction” ultimately overlooking the right to return for previous tenants.
At the most recent planning commission on February 6th the planning commission suggested that tenants pursue the right to return in court since 10 years have passed and that right no longer can be honored according to SF rent board guidelines. The loss of a right to return is a matter of principle when the impact of losing this space has been carried in the memories of community members that are still here from the last ten years. Not preserving the right to return further demonstrates the intent of these housing projects is not to create space for community members for those displaced, but instead increase rent to market-rate housing and further gentrify the neighborhood along Vida condos and the new Alamo Draft House.
Over the years Hawk Lou has worked to propose taller and larger projects, now landing on a proposed 10 story building with181 one to two bedroom units (17 of those units that would be considered “affordable” housing). And over the years Mission community members—largely BIPOC working class folks and organizations that represent these demographics—made it clear this project does not serve them. Hawk Lou and his team mentioned in the February 6, 2015 planning commission meeting that their current design makes up for the loss of businesses by allowing a vending and community space on the ground floor and making up for the units lost by making 17 of them affordable. By meeting the states minimum requirement for affordable housing this project qualifies for state density bonuses that allow this project to grow taller.
With over 8,000 having been displaced in San Francisco since 2012 till 2022, the effect of yet another market rate building in the community will further push out community members by inviting folks who are more affluent into the neighborhood driving up the cost of living and who may not be familiar with the community, the culture, and the history. A neighborhood that has been greatly impacted by the dot com boom, the COVID 19 pandemic, and other social political waves that have further displaced working class, monolingual, and undocumented community members.
10 years later and I never once forgot about the loss of this building. In fact, that experience in many ways has shaped my course as an artist, educator, and community advocate. I left for school in 2016 and came back at the height of the pandemic. As soon as I got the opportunity to screenprint I began printing an image of the building on 22nd and Mission that I held on to for years. Once the print was completed I held onto it until the 8th anniversary rolled around and I decided to release these prints into the world by temporarily installing them on the fence of the property and encouraging people to take them.
I shared this print and public project on Instagram and many people began direct messaging me their memories of what this building meant to them. I went on to do scavenger hunts in the neighborhood with the same image on postage stickers and folks continued to share their memories with me. When the opportunity came to advocate against the current proposed 10-story project with 181 units (with only 17 of them being affordable) I began showing up and continued to distribute these prints.
At this point I have probably distributed 200+ prints of this image and have heard dozens of people’s memories, dreams, and acts of resistance. I believe that collective memory can be a source of collective healing and a tool in the advocacy for developments in the community that are aligned with what community members want and need. Now, as a R.A.I.C.E.S. Fellow (Reimagining Artists in Community Education Spaces) with Galeria de la Raza I am looking to formally document these memories, dreams, and acts of resistance through a memory archive.
On April 10, 2025 the Planning commission will have to come to a decision on the proposed 10 story project after postponing the decision at the last meeting, on February 6, 2025. Many commissioners appeared morally conflicted, several mentioning that the story around the property was not consistent with the information provided by the property owners defense team and the community. Commissioner Theresa Imperial even mentioned that this might be a case with extenuating circumstances- one in which might have to be debated all night.
Regardless of the likely decision to pass this project I continue to have hope that as a community we can and will build spaces that are to our benefit. I continue to believe that history, story-telling, and memories not only protect communities like mine in the Mission but allow us to reimagine the worlds we want to live in. Being an artist has taught me that the first step in creating anything- including change- is to first imagine it without any restrictions. I encourage you to dream big! To keep your sense of faith, and to show up April 10th to let the planning commission know that real frisco is still here- and we are not going anywhere.
