Earlier this week we told you that Umpqua Bank could possibly be moving into the Magnet space on 18th Street, prompting no small amount of discussion over the retail climate of the neighborhood. Well, a little further up the way is another service-oriented business that recently opened its doors, and this one is neither a bank, a pharmacy nor a coffee shop.
Apparatus was formed in May of 1995 by Michael Baushke and Stuart Hills, who met while working at an ice cream shop and studying architecture at Virginia Tech. While they both took different paths after college, they decided to renew their business relationship after moving to San Francisco. Hills himself has been a Castro resident since 1997 and is thrilled about his newly shortened commute. Joining them in the office part-time will be their two dogs, Weller and Gibson.
Asked about the impetus for the move, Hills said, "Our new office brings us much closer to many of our clients. We have several projects in the Castro and Noe Valley underway in addition to many completed projects like Melissa Perello’s Frances." They had also recently been notified of a large rent increase in Hayes Valley and decided it was time to start looking for a new office space.
Apparatus moves in at a time that the Castro's commercial vacancy rate is 6.9 percent, far higher than the city average of 3.8 percent. The Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District is seeking to address the vacancy issue with the Retail Strategy Project, and is currently collecting input from residents by asking them to fill out surveys to determine what types of businesses the neighborhood could use.
The project is still looking for volunteers to take the survey, so go ahead and add your input when stopped by the Castro's on-the-street survey team.
