Russian investors are turning a gorgeous San Francisco church into a space for 'thought leaders'

Courtesy of GVA Capital

A 104-year-old church in San Francisco is getting an extreme makeover thanks to a group of Russian investors.

GVA Capital, a new venture capital firm and startup accelerator, dropped $7 million on the former Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, in the hopes of converting it into an event center for "international thought leaders," as first reported by SF Gate.

Let's take a look inside.

Built in 1912, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church doesn't look like your average event space. For nearly 80 years, it served as a place of worship for Spanish-speaking immigrants.

The church closed in 1991 after membership declined, and it became an English school for Chinese-speaking children. Community has always been at its core.

Pavel Cherkashin, cofounder of GVA Capital, hopes to carry on the building's tradition of bringing diverse groups of people together. After renovations, it will function as a meeting place where the firm will host speaker series', hackathons, and networking events.