LOS ANGELES—The SF Armory, former headquarters for Kink.com, has been sold to a developer associated with club and hotel operator Soho House for $65 million, according to the San Francisco Business Times.
Kink purchased the San Francisco National Guard armory in 2006 for $14.5 million, intending to make the massive building—the castle-like structure covers an entire city block in the Mission District—into the world's largest studio/production facility devoted to adult content. But due in part to what it said was a changing business model, Kink halted all production at the Armory a year ago and began the process of moving out of the building.
The Business Times reported that SF Armory LLC, an entity affiliated with the same Chicago developer who previously developed Soho House's Chicago location, closed the sale on Jan. 26.
Soho House operates 18 properties around the world, including six in the U.S.
In summer of 2015, the Armory transitioned into a full-time event space under the control of San Francisco nightlife luminary Audrey Joseph. An earlier incarnation of the venue, the Armory Community Center, opened in 2013 and hosted book fairs, theater events, and several Pride and New Year's parties. The Armory holds up to 4,000 people, making it one of the biggest venues in the city.
The structure was originally built in 1914 as an armory and arsenal for the U.S. National Guard. It also has hosted sporting events and been used as a location for Hollywood movies.
