Revitalizing San Francisco’s Downtown: A Plan for Recovery
San Francisco’s downtown was once a hub of innovation, diversity, and cultural energy, drawing employees and visitors from around the world. It was a symbol of the city’s spirit.
However, today, downtown is a shadow of its former self. San Francisco is grappling with one of the slowest post-pandemic recoveries in the nation, with downtown projected to take almost a decade to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Businesses and retailers are closing or leaving at an alarming rate — have left San Francisco since the pandemic began. Commercial vacancy rates are at an (and climbing), exacerbated by iconic retailers like . Big tech companies like Uber and Meta are , significantly reducing their downtown office spaces. Large conventions have been indefinitely, with no plans to return. Unfortunately, San Francisco is slated to host conventions next year compared to this year.
Tourism remains below pre-pandemic levels, having since 2019. To make matters worse, San Francisco new housing units in the first half of the year, further hindering recovery. With a painfully low number of employees returning to the office, downtown is struggling to rebound, which further hampers tourism, city tax revenues, and local economic growth. Public safety remains a top concern for San Franciscans and visitors that directly impacts the vibrancy of our downtown.
I am convinced we can reimagine San Francisco’s downtown and get our city back on track. We don’t need to look far to see how recovery is possible. Other neighborhoods in major cities like New York City’s Manhattan have from similar big challenges due to strong leadership, proactive plans, and thoughtful initiatives.
I believe San Francisco can have its own recovery story. We have a once-in-a-generation chance to completely reimagine the possibilities for downtown. My vision for downtown is safe, clean, and will create thriving neighborhoods.
First, I will create and implement a bold 20-year vision for a re-energized, resilient, and mixed-use downtown. This includes converting the barren brick and concrete open space of Embarcadero Plaza into a world-class, family-friendly downtown park, which will serve as a welcoming gateway for the thousands of new residents and visitors to our City.
It also means building tens of thousands of new housing units to help create new neighborhoods downtown and make San Francisco a better place for families. By providing aggressive tax-increment financing and local incentives, we can speed up the production of housing and conversion of commercial office to residential housing.
To boost foot traffic and revitalize our city’s core, we need to bring businesses and employees back to downtown. To do this, I will create new tax incentives for employers who mandate employees go into the office at least four days a week. I will also offer a city tax credit for new employers if they establish their business in a designated downtown zone and allow sales tax generated in Tenderloin and Mid Market to be kept in those neighborhoods for public safety infrastructure and services.
Improving public safety is a cornerstone to making downtown more welcome to businesses, residents, and visitors alike. As mayor, I will expand SFPD foot patrol resources beyond Union Square to the core of downtown by growing the police force back to record size. I will also help streamline and integrate response protocols, training, and surveillance systems among Community Benefit Districts (CBDs), downtown area ambassador programs, and street teams.
Finally, we must reimagine Union Square to encourage more new housing and mixed-use projects to create more vibrancy, visitors, and shopping. I see enormous potential to repurpose and redevelop underutilized buildings and incentivize new, marquee anchor projects that include housing, commercial spaces, opportunities for small businesses, open spaces, and more.
With bold, creative, and proactive leadership, we can bring this vision to life and deliver meaningful change to San Francisco.