If you’ve passed by TestMagic on Irving Street, you may have noticed a lot of construction going on there. And you may have further noticed that TestMagic is no longer at 1722 Irving Street.
So what happened? In a nutshell, the building owners were required to perform significant structural upgrades to the building, and there was really no way that we could stay in that location and teach courses—the construction would simply have been too disruptive.
We’re not sure how long the construction will last, but people who are familiar with this type of construction (so-called soft story retrofitting, which was mandated in 2013 by the San Francisco government) have said that it could take a year or two, and the SF government website states that the construction must be completed by 2019 (that is if the information we’ve received is accurate).
So in short, we had to move out (in October of 2016). It was an emotional time—I had carefully chosen that location in 1998 and grew it from a one-man shop in the late 90s to a much larger operation today in the 2010s (and we’re only getting started!).
Fortunately, we already had another location up and running (since 2004) at 6902 Geary Blvd, not far from TestMagic on Irving Street.
Here’s a copy of the letter we sent out to our students and their parents, which contains more information:
Oct 6, 2016
Dear Parents,
When I founded TestMagic in 1998, I never could have guessed the growth that we would have experienced over the course of eighteen years here in the same space on Irving Street. A lot has changed in this location--there is a Starbucks where Jeff’s Jeans used to be, and there are certainly more boba shops now than there were in the 90s. I have also seen my students finish high school, finish college, and go on to become doctors, soldiers, and respected businesspeople. Many have gotten married and had children. And believe it or not, some of my past students have now started sending their own grown children to TestMagic to study as well!
But one thing has not changed--for eighteen years, we have been in this same spot. We opened our doors here at 1722 Irving Street in 1998, and we have been here ever since, day in, day out.
With this history in mind, I have some news that I need to share. The owners of the building we’ve been teaching in are being required by the San Francisco City Government to upgrade the building to make it ADA compliant and to seismically retrofit the entire building (to strengthen it against earthquakes). This means that they must tear down the walls, remove the bathrooms, and reinforce the foundation. Unfortunately, we are not able to predict how long this work will take. It could be a few months or it could be more than a year. Maybe even two years. Long story short, we are required to leave the premises permanently in the middle of October 2016.
But the good news is that we already have another location up and running at 6902 Geary Blvd (a five-minute drive from TM Irving; near George Washington High School at 33rd Ave.). This will be the new home of TestMagic, and we hope to see you there! This location has been up and running since 2004, so it is well established already. Even better, it’s bigger and more modern.
Details:
• Last day of operations at TestMagic at 1722 Irving St: Oct 13, 2016.
• Starting Oct 14, 2016, please visit TestMagic at 6902 Geary Blvd (near 33rd Ave.) for all your classes, private tutoring, and any other inquiries. This location is already open and fully staffed, so you may visit before then as well.
• Phone numbers: All phone numbers are the same. You may use 415-665-6988 to call us (or any other number you’ve used in the past).
• Email, website, etc.: These will all remain unchanged: hello@testmagic.com and www.testmagic.com
• Staff: All staff, teachers, administrative staff, and management will remain the same. Eva, Nelson, Linda, Erin, Ivy, James, and the whole gang--you will find us over at TestMagic at 6902 Geary Blvd.
To smooth the transition:
• We will offer a shuttle for those who need one on Homework Boost days (MTWTh) from 1722 Irving St to 6902 Geary Blvd before 4pm and then again at 7pm until Winter Break 2016.
• We will offer a 2-for-1 extension of Homework Boost sessions or term for Homework Boost students who transfer from TestMagic (Irving) to TestMagic (Geary). (For Homework Boost and group-class students only; not for private or semi-private lessons.)
We are also talking to each of you individually to make sure that all goes well. Please feel free to get in touch with us at any time should you have any questions.
Finally, thank you for supporting TestMagic by entrusting us with educating your children. It has truly been wonderful to work with each and every one of you for the last eighteen years.
Some people have asked whether we'll move back to Irving Street, and the honest answer is that we're not 100% sure. A lot can happen in a year or two, and we'll just have to see how things look then.
Hope to see you at TestMagic on Geary Blvd!