Downtown Recovery
Downtown revitalization.
25 stories · 1 meeting summary · Aug 28, 2026 – Nov 6, 2026
Stories
Friday, November 6, 20261 story →
The new plan for San Francisco’s dead mall? Tear it all down
Seven Equity Group is in contract to buy the San Francisco Centre for $132.5 million. In a pitch to lenders, the firm said it plans to tear the downtown mall down and build a new mixed-use development on the site.
Thursday, November 5, 20261 story →
A historic flatiron building on Market slips into default
San Francisco’s historic Phelan Building has defaulted on its mortgage after its owners stopped paying a $215 million loan. AIG is seeking foreclosure on the $192 million remaining balance. The building, purchased for $374 million in 2016, has struggled with vacant retail space since the pandemic. It could be sold at auction, adding to downtown SF’s real estate turmoil.
Monday, November 2, 20261 story →
Rents at the once-sinking Millennium Tower just hit $10K for a one-bedroom
A one-bedroom apartment at Millennium Tower rented for $10,000 a month, a record for downtown San Francisco rentals, the Standard reports. The tenant is an AI employee who wanted a home close to the office.
Thursday, October 29, 20261 story →
These two investors are quietly buying up Union Square, one building at a time
The two investors behind Project Uris have spent tens of millions of dollars buying buildings across five retail corridors, the Standard reports. Their purchases center on Union Square, which was still recovering from the pandemic when they began looking at the San Francisco market in 2023.
Sunday, October 25, 20262 stories →
New York investment firm selected to buy San Francisco Centre
New York-based Seven Equity Group has been selected to buy most of the shuttered San Francisco Centre at 865 Market Street, with the deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, Sing Tao reports, citing the San Francisco Chronicle. The roughly 1.15 million-square-foot sale excludes the former Bloomingdale's building at 845 Market Street, and a team that proposed turning the mall into a sports and entertainment complex dropped out this week.
They bet on real estate when SF was at its bottom. Here’s how it turned out
In 2023, companies were abandoning San Francisco office space, and some investors saw an opportunity in the crisis. The Standard checks how those bets have played out.
Saturday, October 24, 20261 story →
Mid-Market staked its recovery on the arts. A weekend festival was the first test
Mid-Market groups held a weekend arts festival as a first test of whether the neighborhood's theaters and arts organizations can draw people downtown. People involved in the effort say the arts could drive a revival like those seen in other parts of downtown, the Standard reports.
Friday, October 23, 20261 story →
Report: Dead mall to be sold again — this time to a New York investment firm
Seven Equity Group, which specializes in repositioning distressed retail, has reportedly been selected to purchase the vacant San Francisco Centre, the Standard reports. The report did not include terms of the sale.
Tuesday, October 20, 20261 story →
Predictably, Someone Wants to Turn Part of SF’s Downtown Mall Into an AI Data Center
A Maryland company asked the Department of Building Inspection in June about permits for an AI data center in the former Bloomingdale's space at 845 Market Street, the Chronicle reports. No application has been filed for the 350,000-square-foot site. KG Growth Partners CEO Jared Krieger told the paper the plan would keep the ground floor open to the public and put technical operations upstairs and in back-of-house space.
Saturday, October 17, 20262 stories →
Haney's AB2308 signed, adding borrowing room for SF downtown rail extension
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2308 by Assemblymember Matt Haney, extending an existing tax-increment financing arrangement by 25 years. Officials say the change adds about $155 million in borrowing capacity for The Portal, the Caltrain extension from Fourth and King streets to the Salesforce Transit Center.
New Mid-Market Arts District Launches With $500K Investment From SF Billionaires
The Market Street Arts & Theater District launches with a free festival Saturday, backed by $500,000 from downtown business groups, the Proper Hotel Group and crypto billionaire Chris Larsen, the Chronicle reports. Organizers plan more than 50 performances at 35 venues across six blocks from Fifth Street to Van Ness Avenue, with UN Plaza as the gathering point.
Friday, October 16, 20262 stories →
‘Just Like Broadway’: Tenderloin Sees $500,000 Investment to Revitalize Theater District
The Mid-Market Business Association & Foundation and Supervisor Bilal Mahmood announced $500,000 for a Market Street Arts & Theater District. The San Francisco Downtown Development Corporation, the Proper Hotel Group and Chris Larsen provided the seed money, and the pilot project focuses on the neighborhood's theater and arts history. A city survey found downtown trips for dining, shopping and work all rose between 2023 and 2026.
The Rack is back: Nordstrom Rack returning to Union Square
Nordstrom Rack will open a 51,500-square-foot store at 2 Stockton Street in Union Square in fall 2027, returning downtown three years after Nordstrom closed its San Francisco stores. Other retailers, including Uniqlo, The RealReal and Zara, have also opened or planned stores nearby, according to the Standard.
Saturday, October 3, 20261 story →
Empty offices, scarce housing: San Francisco eyes 12 downtown buildings for conversion
A study by the architecture firm Gensler reviewed 36 office buildings downtown and found 12 that are better suited to conversion into housing, World Journal reports. If all 12 were converted, they could hold about 2,775 homes, the study estimates. Turning empty offices into apartments is a main part of the city's effort to revive downtown.
Friday, October 2, 20262 stories →
Golden Gate University in talks to buy downtown landmark after vacating campus
Golden Gate University has held talks about buying the Contemporary Jewish Museum's building downtown, after the business college gave up its own campus. The museum building comes with restrictions on how it can be used.
Downtown blocks temporarily evacuated due to underground fire
A fire in an underground vault beneath a downtown office tower led officials to warn people nearby to shelter in place for hours Thursday morning. Streets around the block were closed while fire crews worked.
Wednesday, September 16, 20261 story →
New Renderings Revealed for Long-Stalled Tower on SF's First Street
New renderings show the latest design for the long-stalled tower project on First Street between Market and Mission streets, the site once known as Oceanwide Center. A local venture of SKS Partners and investor Jay Yang, working with developer BXP, is submitting new plans after buying the property and its completed foundation from the bank that owned it. Construction stopped after the pandemic hit and the original Chinese developer lost the project in foreclosure.
Tuesday, September 15, 20261 story →
Developer wants an office-only tower at 536 Mission Street, and the city has other ideas
Lincoln Properties approached Golden Gate University about buying 536 Mission Street for a high-rise and offered two options: a 650-foot tower with offices and apartments, or a slightly taller one with 1.2 million square feet of offices, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. City officials have raised concerns about an all-office building.
Monday, September 14, 20261 story →
There’s a sorta crazy plan to turn SF’s dead mall into a sports mecca
Urban Land Development and TMG Partners submitted a bid for the San Francisco Centre that would turn the largely empty downtown mall into a multilevel sports complex built around basketball. A high school with a sports focus is part of the plan.
Wednesday, September 9, 20261 story →
Golden Gate University sells Mission Street campus for $31.6M and moves out
Golden Gate University has moved out of its longtime downtown campus after selling 536 Mission St. to a developer on Friday. The sale, reported at $31.6 million, will settle part of the university's debts. The developer plans one of San Francisco's first new skyscrapers since the pandemic.
Tuesday, September 8, 20261 story →
Where is the Tenderloin in downtown’s comeback story?
Tenderloin stakeholders say large-scale investment from San Francisco's downtown recovery has not reached their neighborhood. They remain hopeful it will.
Saturday, September 5, 20262 stories →
Historic SF office building sells at a big discount
A historic 1936 office building in San Francisco has sold at a major discount. The buyers hope to fill the mostly empty property with new tech tenants.
SF waterfront office building signs Disney after Google exits
One Market Plaza has signed Disney to a 76,000-square-foot lease after losing Google as its main tenant. The waterfront office complex totals about 1.6 million square feet.
Friday, September 4, 20261 story →
SoMa is San Francisco’s rise and fall, all at once
SoMa's recovery is fractured, with an AI boom on one side and lingering pandemic-era problems on the other. The feature looks at the neighborhood's uneven revival.
Friday, August 28, 20261 story →
A Mid-Market building the city abandoned finds a new buyer
A new buyer acquired 1155 Market St., a Mid-Market building the city had abandoned. The owner is optimistic about the area's rebirth, according to The San Francisco Standard.