Entrepreneur Kevin Born, a local builder who owns and runs Ashbury General Contracting & Engineering, intends to establish a luxurious bathhouse in a two-story building he owns. The goal is to capitalize on the recent change in San Francisco law that permits adult bathhouses to reopen.
Located at 40 12th Street, a half block south of Market Street and a few blocks from the SF Eagle, Born has submitted plans to the city for the construction of a new, upscale gay bathhouse called Maze SF.
When applying for a conditional use permit to operate a new bathhouse at the location, Born told city planners that he wants to convert the building’s two floors and mezzanine into a facility featuring “shower rooms, locker rooms, a steam room, and multiple rooms for patrons to engage in sexual activities or observe other patrons engaging in sexual activities.”
Born told the Bay Area Reporter (a San Francisco newspaper) that the rooms would not be “dingy and gross,” with not a single black-painted plywood wall in sight. Born, who is collaborating with a Mexico City architect to complete the design, compared the style he wants to achieve to that of the Four Seasons chain or the upscale fitness center Equinox.
Born, who in the 1980s went out drinking and dancing with his four gay roommates at bathhouses in Los Angeles, stated, “I want you to feel like it is an extension of your home or someone’s really cool home.”
Born said he hopes to have the bathhouse open in time for Pride Month in 2027, but the buildout is expected to take 10 to 12 months and cost $5 million. Born stated that he anticipates finding investors and entrepreneur wanting to participate once he has the city’s authorized permit.
“I want to make this business a flagship and use it to enter other markets,” he stated.
Joshua Slocum, one of Born’s advisers, states, “The cost of housing is high in San Francisco, so no one can host.” This means that many LGBT people in the city live in shared accommodation, which makes it difficult for them to invite someone they met on an app or at a bar over for sex. “In high housing cost markets, it is essential to provide a space where someone can host and meet.”
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