San Francisco has become a prime example of what downtowns shouldn't look like: vacant, crime-ridden and in various stages of decay. But it's just one of many cities whose downtowns are reckoning with a post-pandemic wake-up call: diversify or die.
Hotel revenues are stuck at 73% of pre-pandemic levels, weekly office attendance remains below 50% and commuter rail travel to downtown is at 33%, according to a recent economic report by the city.
But other major cities including Portland and Seattle, which also rely on tech workers, are struggling with similar declines, according to the downtown recovery study, which used anonymized mobile phone data to analyze downtown activity patterns from before the pandemic and between March and May of this year.
San Francisco leaders are taking the demise of downtown seriously. Supervisors recently relaxed downtown zoning rules to allow mixed-use spaces: offices and services on upper floors and entertainment and pop-up shops on the ground floor. Legislation also reduces red tape to facilitate converting existing office space into housing.
But Marc Benioff, chief executive officer of Salesforce, the city’s largest employer and anchor tenant in its tallest skyscraper, said downtown is “never going back to the way it was” when it comes to workers commuting in each day. He advised Breed to convert office space into housing and hire more police to give visitors a sense of safety.Downtown housing has been the key to success in Baltimore and Salt Lake City, Chapple said.as a potential lifeline.
“They just don’t want to deal with the homelessness, with the environment, with the ambience,” he said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ghirardelli's flagship shop back open in San FranciscoGhirardelli's original chocolate and ice cream shop in Ghirardelli Square is back open.
Read more »
Shots fired, injury reported on Highway 280 in San FranciscoBREAKING: A shooting on Interstate Highway 280 in San Francisco injured at least one person Friday afternoon.
Read more »
Freeway shooting in San Francisco leaves one person injured; road rage suspectedA woman was hit by a flying bullet Friday afternoon when a suspected road rage incident erupted into a freeway shooting on US-101 near the I-280 interchange in San Francisco, according to California Highway Patrol.
Read more »
CHP investigates freeway shooting in San FranciscoThe California Highway Patrol is investigating a freeway shooting that happened on Interstate 280 in San Francisco Friday afternoon.
Read more »
This San Francisco museum is home to the earliest known drawing of Mickey MouseAmong the letters, photos, videos, miniatures, animation cels, and countless other forms of Disney keepsakes, the Walt Disney Family Museum's most prized possession is the earliest known drawing of Mickey Mouse.
Read more »
Woman shot in leg while driving on Hwy 101 in San Francisco, CHP saysAt least one person is injured after shots were fired on Highway 101 near I-280 in San Francisco.
Read more »