San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum Puts Its Daniel Libeskind Building on the Market
The Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) in San Francisco is preparing to sell its Daniel Libeskind-designed building downtown, a striking 63,000-square-foot reimagining of a 1907 power substation that opened in 2008. The move comes after the museum closed in December 2024 and laid off 80% of its staff, citing diminished attendance and constrained support in the years following the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a press release announcing its intention to sell, the non-collecting institution said it plans to direct proceeds toward “a sustainable and impactful future for the museum.”
“As we enter our next chapter, every decision is guided by our commitment to remaining an essential part of the cultural fabric of the Bay Area for generations to come,” Kerry King, the CJM’s executive director, said in a statement. King added that the museum has spent the past year strengthening its finances and internal structure, positioning it, in her words, for “a bold and lasting future,” even as its “physical home may evolve.”
Founded in 1984, the CJM focuses on contemporary Jewish art and culture and does not maintain a permanent collection. Its current home, completed at a reported cost of $47 million, transformed a landmark industrial structure into a museum defined by Libeskind’s angular interventions and dramatic play of light.
Libeskind, the project’s award-winning architect, voiced support for the sale in a statement. “It has been both an honour and a profound responsibility to shape a building for this community — one that transforms a historic power station into a new architectural expression of light, form and public life,” he said. He added that he hopes the building will continue to inspire visitors and stand as “a lasting testament to Jewish life in San Francisco and the creativity and cultural exchange it was conceived to foster.”
The sale, however, is likely to be shaped by local restrictions. According to reporting by Laura Waxmann and J.K. Dineen of the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco law requires that the landmark building remain in cultural or institutional use, meaning it cannot be converted into offices, housing, or a hotel. That limitation narrows the pool of potential buyers at a moment when downtown San Francisco’s cultural and commercial landscape remains under pressure.
“This is our most significant asset,” King told the Chronicle. “We need to monetise it to have a future.” The museum, she said, is carrying about $13.5 million in debt and is still paying down the loan used to build the facility it is now seeking to sell.
While the CJM has not detailed what its next model will look like, it has emphasized that it is not ending its work. Museum leadership has indicated plans to hire a new curator and to pursue exhibitions and events in collaboration with other cultural organizations. The building’s spaces will also remain available for private rentals through January 2027.
The real-estate firm Newmark is handling the marketing and sale of the property. For the CJM, the transaction signals a pivot away from a single, fixed address toward a more flexible future — one that, the museum argues, is intended to preserve its role as a civic platform for art, culture, and Jewish life in the Bay Area.
