Cothran

In 1996, at the beginning of the live-work binge, a developer built an eight-unit project at 728 Alabama St. Immediately, the tenants began complaining about the noise. A few minor incidents of raucous behavior occurred -- no guns, gangs, or injuries -- giving lofties the club they needed to bash the school. They went to the police, and the cops required the school to hire off-duty cops, at a cost of $4,000 a night, to provide security.

No promoter is willing to pay that fee, says George Lopez, the school's employment manager, so he expects that after 31 years, the music will stop. No more weekend dances. The school is now trying to lease the empty dance-hall space to a tenant. But since the building needs more than a half-million dollars in electrical upgrades, no business is biting. With $100,000 gone from the school's budget, Lopez says everyone at Mission Language is worried about the future.

And yet another live-work development is about to go in right next door to the school. (728 Alabama was across the street.)

The school has one way out though. "Developers have been making offers on the building," Lopez says. "They want to turn it into live-work lofts."

George Cothran (gcothran@sfweekly.com) can be reached at SF Weekly, 185 Berry, Suite 3800, San Francisco,