Construction is underway at 1600 Jackson Street, the former Lombardi Sports building that sat vacant for eleven years after five failed redevelopment deals. Fitness SF is converting the 44,000-square-foot corner building into its ninth Bay Area location, with flooring and tile going in and a fall 2026 opening targeted.

Earlier this week, someone who got a tour of the interior of 1600 Jackson Street — the two-story, nearly 44,000-square-foot building at the corner of Polk — reported flooring going in, tile climbing the walls of the bathrooms and a planned dog room, and fresh concrete being poured in the garage. The shell of a building that sat empty for eleven years is becoming a gym.

Fitness SF, the family-owned Bay Area chain organized under Jackovics Enterprises, received administrative planning clearance for the site in November 2024. No public hearing was required. The $3.27 million renovation is targeting a fall 2026 opening — September, according to the company's community page. It will be the chain's ninth location, joining five other SF gyms plus Oakland and Marin.

That timeline lands with some weight. Lombardi Sports, the sporting-goods store that moved to this corner from Clement Street in 1993, closed in November 2014. What followed was eleven years and five failed redevelopment attempts: a 62-unit condo project abandoned after neighbor opposition; a Target Express opposed by the community; a Whole Foods 365 with five to eight apartments that the Planning Commission rejected for insufficient housing; a Mollie Stone's lease terminated mid-pandemic; and a Gus's Community Market deal that collapsed as interest rates rose. The building's owners, Village Properties, were reportedly seeking around $25 million in 2024; the monthly asking rent had sat at $92,500. Formula retail restrictions — chains with eleven or more locations worldwide require conditional use authorization — added a procedural hurdle to each grocery attempt.

Fitness SF signed a purchase agreement in September 2024. Planned amenities include two group-fitness studios, a dog lounge, cryotherapy and sauna equipment, a 2,000-square-foot co-working space, and 60 to 70 parking spots with e-bike charging. Membership is set at $129.95 a month.

The corner of Polk and Jackson has had no ground-floor tenant since Lombardi pulled down its sign. By the account of whoever got that tour Tuesday, the floors are almost there.