The swinger-friendly nightclub Power Exchange has been chased out of several San Francisco neighborhoods over its 30-year history, with residents of SoMa and Mid-Market lodging complaints about having a sex dungeon as a neighbor.     

In 2010, however, it finally found a long-term home with a friendly landlord in the Tenderloin. The business has a lease that runs through 2036. 

But Power Exchange could be on the move once again. The building’s owner, Terrance Alan, a well-known advocate for the nightlife, queer, and cannabis communities, died in October. His widower is looking to sell the 5,800-square-foot property at 220 Jones St., with an asking price of nearly $2.38 million. More of Alan’s portfolio may eventually hit the market, according to listing agent Steven “Stu” Gerry, who is working with his estate, but this is the first.

The Compass agent said his client would like to keep the sex club in place, even with new building ownership. “The intention is to keep it sex-positive as best we can,” Gerry said. “But if someone wanted to come in and do something different, they could certainly buy that lease out.” 

Power Exchange owner Josh Powers said he’d be open to that option. He’s grateful for the space, but street conditions have been a problem for his business and clientele.  

“We would absolutely be open to anywhere else in the city,” said Powers. If he gets a buyout and can drum up investor interest, he wants to create San Francisco’s version of the Playboy Mansion, “where we design the place, we have the ability to build it and actually make it what we dream up, as opposed to accepting a floor plan and a location that we are just dealing with.” 

In 2014, Powers took over Power Exchange from his father, Mike, who now provides security for music festivals but still consults on what is objectively an unusual family business. 

It was Mike who developed the relationship with Alan, who found himself in desperate need of a tenant when the Pink Diamonds strip club was suddenly shut down by the city (opens in new tab) after there was a murder outside. 

Meanwhile, Power Exchange’s planned move to nearby Mason Street ran into problems when that building failed to meet fire safety standards. 

The men came to a win-win agreement, and Power Exchange entered the space without an upfront security deposit. 

“Terrance has been one of our biggest advocates for protecting Power Exchange, culturally,” Powers said. “He fought for us.” 

When the COVID shutdown led to encampments in front of the club, Alan — who helped establish the San Francisco Entertainment Commission in 2003 and was its first chair — lobbied the city for help. He also accepted deferred payments on the $20,000 monthly rent during the slow winter months. Even when times were good, the rental was a rather unorthodox arrangement, with weekly payments of $5,000 rather than a monthly lump sum.

“We always worked out the finances,” Powers said. “That part was just minor details compared to actually wanting to say that these kinds of places belong in the city, and that, if you go all the way back, is what the city was actually built on.” 

From the Barbary Coast to bathhouses, San Franciscans often fail to appreciate that the liberties they enjoy came from advocacy by the nightlife and queer communities, said Gerry, who is also representing the former all-male strip club the Nob Hill Theatre. 

“The rich, chichi, pooh-pooh mamas in the Marina can go to women’s spas now, where people can be naked in the same room, because of the queer clubs,” he said. “Whether people want to admit it or not, they’re connected.” 

The drug use and homelessness near Power Exchange are likely the biggest deterrents to buyers, according to the agent, who has nevertheless heard from a handful of investors and owner-users since the listing launched. 

Powers said he’s interested in staying, but his tie to the building was really about his family’s relationship with Alan rather than the location itself. He knows Power Exchange won’t be welcomed to a new neighborhood with open arms but argues that even with the X-rated activities, he’s just another small-business owner providing a valuable service; in his case, freedom.

“It’s up to you what you want to do, and that speaks more volumes about what San Francisco’s culture is than anything else,” he said.