San Francisco, CA
Dead owner, disgraced official: Why this blighted theater sits empty after 17 years
Over the years, multiple plans have been proposed for the theater, located at 2465 Mission St. between 20th and 21st streets, but none of them ever materialized. Now, after the structural engineer for the most recent plan went to prison—disgraced former city official Rodrigo Santos—and one of the two property owners died, the ruined theater’s future is uncertain.
“There’s no plans right now for the Tower Theater,” said Robert Cort, who co-owned the property with his mother, Vera Cort, until her death last month at age 82. “I’m not developing anything there. I’m just hoping someone will lease it and fill the space.”
Despite Cort’s hopes that someone will lease the property, he admitted it isn’t listed on the rental market. There are no listings online for the property. When The Standard visited the site on Wednesday, there were no signs advertising the space as available for lease.
Cort said that dealing with his late mother’s estate left him no time to sign a listing agreement for the theater.
“There’s just so much going on,” he said.