As San Francisco faces record business vacancies, one mayoral candidate plans to reshape the city’s business district and surrounding areas.
Former mayor pro tem Mark Farrell, a Democrat, has laid out a 20-year vision for revitalizing downtown San Francisco to help the city recover from challenges posed by the pandemic. His plans include a new park at Embarcadero Plaza and mixed-use buildings to provide more housing options.
There are also tax incentives for businesses relocating to the area. For those asking employees to return to the office four days a week. The goal is to inspire industries beyond technology.
“As I’ve traveled around the world and our country over the past few years, other downtowns and other cities have recovered from COVID-19,” Farrell told CNBC. “Unfortunately, our city is now in the midst of COVID-19. To me, it’s an embarrassment to be at the bottom of the post-pandemic recovery.”
San Francisco commercial real estate vacancy rate hits new high of 34.5% in second quarter Report Data from Cushman & Wakefield last week showed that figure was up from 5% before the pandemic. Manhattan’s vacancy rate this quarter was 23.6%. Farrell’s goal is to cut San Francisco’s vacancy rate in half by the end of his first term.
A key part of Farrell’s plan is getting workers back into the city. Many of San Francisco’s top employers, including sales force, Uber and visa, has embraced hybrid working, with employees reporting to work up to three days a week. On top of that, the tech industry has been hit by layoffs over the past two years, resulting in thousands of job losses.
Under Farrell’s proposal, businesses that move downtown would receive a gross receipts tax break. The same goes for companies that force employees to work four days a week. Such mandates have been met with resistance in some cities, most recently in Philadelphia, where city workers unionized lost bid Further extension of on-site work deadlines.
“Right now, if you come to the city center, the problem is, it’s so sparsely populated, it’s just a shell,” Farrell said. The incentives, he said, are designed to ensure “employees are back in the office multiple days a week in order to To create a vitality that will truly drive the future development of the city centre.”
Public safety is a major concern as certain areas of downtown San Francisco are plagued by drug abuse and homeless encampments. Farrell called for increased police staffing. Safety and street conditions affect every community outside of downtown San Francisco, he said.
Conventions and tourism have also been slow to return to the city since shutdowns began in early 2020. He envisioned a clean, open park outside the Ferry Building that would attract workers, residents and visitors. He compared it to San Francisco’s landmark Mission Dolores Park.
An image commissioned by mayoral candidate Mark Farrell’s campaign shows future plans for a new “world-class” park at the Embarcadero.
Courtesy of Farrell, commissioned by Gensler as Mayor
For housing, Farrell’s plan includes “aggressive tax increment financing” and local incentives to promote faster housing development and the conversion of commercial buildings to residential. Farrell also seeks to raise height limits in neighborhoods like the Financial District, SoMA and Mission Bay to create “tens of thousands” of new units and residents, and encourage more housing in places like Union Square. recently lost Major tenants include Macy’s and Nordstrom.
Farrell said the idea is similar to New York’s hudson square, which opened before the pandemic. The project has been criticized for its high price tag but has become a success story, with lower office tower vacancy rates than other Manhattan neighborhoods. Farrell said his proposal would bring revenue to the city but would require an anchor project.
“The problem now is downtown,” Farrell said. “We don’t have anyone working here. It’s a ghost town. That means lost sales tax revenue and property tax revenue, and when buildings are selling for 10 or 20 cents on the dollar, property tax revenue is significantly reduced. Ultimately, The resulting commercial property taxes leave a huge hole in our San Francisco budget.
Farrell first must win an election that features a number of high-profile local candidates, including current Mayor London Breed, philanthropist Daniel Lurie and Board of Supervisors Chairman Aaron Peskin. according to Municipal government website13 people are eligible to participate in the November election.
—CNBC’s Ari Levy and Jordan Novet contributed to this report.
