Ingleside Small Business Evictions A Cautionary Tale For San Francisco's Bold Upzoning Plans

Without declaring its next move, a beleaguered real estate developer is evicting small business owners who’ve called Ingleside’s stretch of Ocean Avenue home for decades.

TJ Development Inc. issued eviction notices to two of three remaining small businesses in the 13 commercial spaces across its four buildings over the past three weeks. The move all but finalizes the removal of tenants from its 10,000 square feet of property in the heart of the neighborhood.

Jade Building Material Supplies, A-1 Shoe Repair and Ocean Hair Design must vacate the dilapidated and, in some instances, contaminated premises by Wednesday, Oct. 1.

“They’ve always wanted to tear it down, so they just don’t care about maintenance,” said Allen Dang, who has co-owned Ocean Hair Design with his wife, Cindy Huynh, since 1996.

The threat of eviction has been ever-present. For years, TJ Development has left storefronts vacant and unsightly while seeking permissions for a mixed-use apartment building or just selling the properties outright.

The company has tried to use the increased building height limits, as other developers have since the Balboa Park Area Plan upzoned the street in 2009. While Ingleside has welcomed more housing and retail space, the wayward project points to the downside of upzoning: developers can neglect how their hold over commercial properties impacts the community at large. It’s an issue some city leaders have ignored while holding Ingleside up as a rezoning success story, while others are working to find solutions.

In the meantime, the vacancies kill foot traffic in an area that has not yet recovered from the pandemic’s fallout, while the stalled project does nothing to help meet the city’s staggering housing goals.

Developments Delayed

Plans to develop the block started in 2006 when Willart LLC and partners sought approvals to raze the storefronts, including the historic Bank of America, to build a 31-unit apartment building with an underground garage.

They submitted new plans in 2009, calling for 48 units with 8,114 square feet of retail and 48 off-street parking spaces, with the Bank of America excluded. TJ Development bought the buildings, all of which were occupied, in 2014 and began advancing the project.

The company granted leases of 12 to 18 months to select businesses, with no option for renewal afterward. Businesses began to close and the storefronts went vacant. Meanwhile, it began working with SIA Consulting to submit design plans, the same firm that, in 2023, was part of a corruption scandal involving the bribery of city officials for permit approvals.

In 2022, TJ Development, alongside Global Premier Development, held a raucous public meeting to share plans for an eight-story senior housing development. Officials from the Department of Toxic Substances Control appeared to chastise the developers for ignoring their notices. The company had signed an agreement three years earlier to work with the state agency to address toxic soil contamination from a long-closed dry cleaner.

In 2024, TJ Development listed its properties for sale. That same year, the Legacy Business, The Ave Bar, shut down after a burglary.

Miles Escobedo, co-owner of nearby Ocean Ale House, who leads the Ingleside Merchants Association, said the developer was plainly “profiteering.”

“They're willing to crush some small businesses and create havoc in our community in order to profit.”

“They're willing to crush some small businesses and create havoc in our community in order to profit,” Escobedo said, adding that keeping the majority of that block vacant was devastating to the community’s economic recovery. “We need more small businesses. This community is ready, willing and able to support.”

The block of Ocean Avenue is something of a cautionary tale for merchants in other parts of the city who fear Mayor Daniel Lurie’s “family zoning” proposal.

“What we’re fearful of is that as more upzoning takes place, the land value increases, those speculative real estate interests will come in and buy up parcels, displace the tenants and you might not even get the housing for years,” said Christin Evans, a Haight Street small business owner and founder of Small Business Forward. “It impacts neighboring businesses when there's reduced foot traffic for long periods of time when those parcels are being held vacant.”

District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen, who represents the block, declined to be interviewed about the evictions for this report. However, she told The Light in April that she wanted to ensure the development proposal includes the longtime small businesses. At press time, it was unclear if she was involved in any capacity.

Uncertain Future

The evictions come months after TJ Development sought a preliminary project review from the Planning Department in April for a five-story mixed-use building of 92 residential units and four retail spaces.

Yet Bugra Arkin, who joined the company in 2023 as CEO, confirmed that there were no active development plans for the property.

Arkin blamed City Hall’s red tape for the project’s stop-and-go nature, even though the state’s toxics remediation requirements have clearly been the most serious obstacle.

“The city needs to change a lot of rules to be business-friendly,” Arkin said without elaborating.

Yoni Recinos wants more transparency from TJ Development for the sake of his livelihood.

Recinos, the owner of A-1 Shoe Repair since 1999, fell behind on rent after suffering a heart attack and the forced closure caused by the pandemic. He sought a repayment plan with his landlord but never reached an agreement.

Recinos cannot leave due to his inability to physically move his large machinery or afford other storefronts in the area. He’s seeking legal recourse, he said.

“They haven’t given us any options or resolution to stay,” Recinos said. “If their intent is to sell the buildings after all these years, I think that should be acknowledged.”

Although Arkin declined to say if the buildings would be demolished, kept vacant or put up for sale, he hinted at another possibility.

“We may be fixing the property, but I can’t comment on what’s next.”

“We may be fixing the property, but I can’t comment on what’s next,” Arkin said.

Exactly one day prior to speaking to The Light, environmental services company EKI sent a letter to the DTSC on behalf of TJ Development. The letter requested that the DTSC drop the planned air sampling, as the remaining tenants would be vacated by Sept. 30.

Ocean Hair Design, whose business was filled with air purifiers at the request of the DTSC, received a letter from developers on Sept. 15, confirming the Oct. 1 eviction.

Huynh and Dang secured a lease for a storefront directly across the street, recently vacated by a salon and retailer, allowing them to maintain their clientele.

The couple has been working shoulder-to-shoulder, cutting hair in the same Ingleside storefront for 29 years. There, they raised their children amidst the hum of hair clippers.

“Our kids are now in their 20s,” Huynh said. “To them, this place is their second home.”

But now, the family must say goodbye to their second home and build a new one.