San Francisco’s gay nightlife is getting an addition that has been a long time coming. Sanctum Baths, a proposed gay bathhouse, has received unanimous approval from the city’s Planning Commission, clearing a major hurdle for a venue that would bring traditional bathhouse culture back to the city after more than four decades.
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The project comes from Kevin Born, chief executive of Ashbury General Contracting & Engineering, who plans to transform his company’s former headquarters into a two-storey adult venue at 40 12th Street, near Market Street and Van Ness Avenue. The commission voted 7-0 in favor of the necessary permits on November 5, following more than a year of planning complications.
A New Address for San Francisco’s Gay Bathhouse Scene
Born first announced the project in June 2025, initially considering The Maze and Maze S.F. before settling on Sanctum Baths.
The biggest obstacle wasn’t finding a name, however. It was figuring out how to give customers privacy without running afoul of the city’s storefront transparency rules.
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San Francisco generally requires commercial properties to have clear, unobstructed street-facing windows. Born had previously removed the building’s windows without the necessary authorization, resulting in a planning enforcement issue. They were subsequently reinstated, but the proposed bathhouse still needed a solution that would keep its interior discreet.
The approved plans retain the street-facing entrance while allowing obscured but translucent glazing. Zoning administrator Corey Teague also agreed to grant a variance from the standard window requirements.
Planning Commission president Amy Campbell welcomed the proposal, saying, “I can’t think of a better and more appropriate location. I know this location very well, as I ride by it every day on my bike.”
Born was equally pleased with the outcome, telling the Bay Area Reporter shortly after the vote, “I am super happy. Number one, because everyone was very supportive.”
Why San Francisco’s Bathhouse Comeback Matters
The approval carries particular weight because traditional gay bathhouses have been largely absent from San Francisco since the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s.
In 1984, the San Francisco Department of Public Health introduced rules prohibiting private rooms with locked doors and requiring staff to monitor patrons’ sexual activity. The measures led bathhouse owners to close their establishments, although some gay sex clubs without locked rooms continued operating.
Eros remains open in the Tenderloin, but Sanctum Baths would mark the return of a traditional bathhouse with private rooms.
San Francisco has spent years dismantling the restrictions that made these venues difficult to operate. An ordinance pushed by District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman rescinded the city’s health code restrictions. In 2022, another ordinance updated zoning rules to allow bathhouses in designated LGBTQ+ neighborhoods, including the Tenderloin, South of Market and the Castro.
Another hurdle remained in the form of Police Code Article 26, which prohibited locked rooms in bathhouses and required operators to maintain daily registers of customers that police or health department employees could inspect. The Board of Supervisors repealed the provision in 2024, removing what was believed to be the final major obstacle to bringing traditional bathhouses back.
Even so, planning requirements concerning street-facing windows continued to complicate the process. The latest approval addresses that issue, allowing Sanctum Baths to move forward with its proposed design.
The planning staff also highlighted the potential public health benefits of properly operated adult venues, noting that they can educate patrons about disease prevention and establish safer-sex community norms.
For a city still reckoning with the legacy of the AIDS crisis, the return of these spaces carries significance beyond nightlife. It also reflects how attitudes and public health approaches have changed over the decades.
When Will Sanctum Baths Open?
The approval is a significant step, but there’s still construction work ahead. Born must hire an architect to oversee the design and buildout of the venue.
He is aiming for a late 2027 opening, although the timeline will depend on the remaining architectural work, permitting and construction.
Born is eager to get moving. Following the commission’s decision, he told the Bay Area Reporter, “I am hellbent to move as quickly as I can move.”
For San Francisco, this is about more than adding another nightlife destination. A traditional gay space that disappeared during one of the most devastating periods in LGBTQ+ history is finally getting a chance to return.
And if everything goes according to plan, 2027 could be the year Sanctum Baths gives the city’s bathhouse scene a new beginning.