New building The Ute and William K. Bowes, Jr. Center for Performing Arts, located at 200 Van Ness Ave, dramatically amplifies the scale of opportunity SFCM provides for students and deepens our engagement with the community of San Francisco’s Civic Center.
A “vertical campus” designed by Mark Cavagnero Associates, The $200 million, 170,000 sq. ft. Bowes Center incorporates affordable student housing, dining, classrooms, rehearsal rooms, performances spaces, faculty and partner offices, and a radio station all under one roof. The building enables students to create, learn, and share music in an integrated, collaborative environment, located within walking distance from SFCM’s main 50 Oak Street location.
Apartments for over 400 student-musicians, learn about living on campus. As well as housing for students at the San Francisco Ballet School, short term housing for visiting faculty and guest performers, and apartments for tenants of the building previously on the site of the Bowes Center. Residential amenities for students include a student center with social and study spaces, dining from Chef Loretta Keller, known for her work at San Francisco’s Coco500, and acoustically isolated apartments that allow for practicing.
Additional building highlights include a flexible event space and terrace on the top two floors of the building and offices for faculty, staff of Opus 3 Artists, and broadcasting facilities for KDFC Classical Radio. The Bowes Center was developed with the environment in mind, and anticipates the new building will reduce annual energy costs by 16.9%. Learn more about the Bowes Center green initiatives.