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Empty storefronts on Market Street in San Francisco (Photo: Evan Symon for California Globe)

The Empty Storefronts of Downtown San Francisco

San Francisco vacancy ‘is probably worse than 37% right now’

By Evan Symon, March 30, 2024 2:30 am

Whenever an article on companies leaving San Francisco or more reports on office vacancies in the city come out, there will always be a few e-mails saying that it isn’t actually that bad. That empty storefronts aren’t abundant. A lot of residents in San Francisco just want to keep charging ahead with the narrative that all is ok in San Francisco. At least for retail. A common comeback seems to be “If you were here, you would think differently.”

Ok – Let’s test that. On Friday, amidst a downpour, the Globe decided to go from the Ferry Terminal in the Embarcadero down the city’s main economic corridor, Market Street, curve in to Union Square, before curving back onto Market Street and end at City Hall. This way, tourist areas and business areas can passed through, as well as major stops on BART and Muni lines, both of which usually bring in a lot more foot traffic to areas.

Empty Storefront between Union Square and Market Street in San Francisco (Evan Symon for California Globe)

As noted with an article about retail businesses in Oakland from earlier in the week, the discrepancy between San Francisco’s commercial and retail vacancies is wide. Latest figures of office vacancy in San Francisco are at about 37%, with only 6% being reported for retail vacancy. The same factors affect both in the current market:  Economic uncertainty, high inflation, rising insurance costs, more people working from home, the rise of AI and automation, the continued rise of e-commerce, the rising crime rate, high rental costs, and businesses still adjusting to a post-COVID climate.

And, as the Globe found out with Oakland, retail vacancy rates really make it hard to pin down what vacancies are, as the rates generally only pick up on a narrowly defined term over a long period of time, while a more variable model found in malls and other retail areas usually goes month to month. So while Oakland claims a 7% retail vacancy rate based on longer term trends, in the here and now, real estate experts told the Globe it about matches the office vacancy rate of 20%. And when the Globe looked at the situation first hand, the latter held out. So the question is, would San Francisco follow suit, or were those people defending the city and the 6% rate be right?

Empty storefronts off Union Square in San Francisco (Photo: Evan Symon for California Globe)

“Oh, it’s probably worse than 37% right now,” said Angie Reese, a commercial real estate monitor in a Globe interview. “That 6% is a lie. They can’t even claim a district has that much. Not even Pacific Heights. For a main thoroughfare like Market street with high rental prices, lowered foot traffic because of fewer people working downtown, and all those reports of drug users and criminals there, 37% is generous.”

Walking down Market proved her right. While restaurants and coffee houses were there and getting decent business, empty storefronts dotted the street. Oftentimes they were in surprising places. Some vacancies were right across the street from the tourist hub of the ferry terminal. Others were in prominent buildings like the Palace Hotel. Even more, some were for long stretches. The most empty storefronts in a row counted was 5, but in one two block stretch on market, it was 7 out of 8.

Empty storefronts on Market Street in San Francisco next to the Ferry Terminal (Photo: Evan Symon for California Globe)

Corners that had shops ten years ago according to Google Streetmap views were empty. Empty store fronts given the telltale signs of being painted over with artwork or having bi displays inside stretched for as much as a block. There were some signs of typical San Francisco. Ghirardelli’s, See’s, and even places selling the famous sourdough bread were doing alive and very well. Surprisingly, cosmetics stores were also in abundance, often next to a cafe or coffee shop. So it wasn’t dead.

Empty storefronts on Market Street in San Francisco (Photo: Evan Symon for California Globe)

Turning into Union Square, with more higher end stores, it was oddly the same. Some prominent places touching the square itself or the inexplicable Dyson showroom were empty, and the frequency increased in the streets leading away back to Market. While more empty storefronts were seen, the counting of them by this point seemed futile. It was like a baseball game where the score was 16-0 in the third inning. There was just so much that adding anymore on was going to be pointless and you wondered why the mercy rule wasn’t put into effect yet.

Empty storefronts on Market Street in San Francisco (Photo: Evan Symon for California Globe)

Finally at City Hall, well within view of many other empty storefronts, there was a rough tally, and the retail-commercial vacancy model of correlation won out. That 6% was a pipe dream, with retail being as bad as commercial.

Empty storefronts on Market Street in San Francisco (Photo: Evan Symon for California Globe)

“There’s a lot of reasons for it like you mentioned,” added Reese. But that’s just how it is in San Francisco. We’re seeing this everywhere, but not to the extent of San Francisco. And as you saw, there is a big difference between Main Street and Market Street.”

Updated Bay Area office and retail vacancy figures for Q2 are due to start coming in sometime in June.

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14 thoughts on “The Empty Storefronts of Downtown San Francisco

  1. You know what will fix this? It’s Gov. Gav’s hard hitting “Climate Change” policy. It will fix every ill of every city, man, woman and child! Of course I am being facetious.

    A crying shame when you allow crooked marxists to run your city. Will it be a lessoned learn to the residents? After reading this article the people still living there, remain blind to the facts and reality on the streets.

    This is purposeful. They operate on Build Back Better. They just never told you it had to be burned down first.
    Be very careful when politicians tell you they reimagine your city, your life, your family!

    Happy Easter Everyone.
    Trust in God, not the politicians.

    1. Even the San Francisco of “The Lineup” (1958, director Don Siegel) would be an improvement.
      https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051866/
      Great movie, by the way.
      I thought Evan Symon’s first-person, on-the-street reports, in both Oakland and San Francisco, were very effective to give us the real story on this. Appreciated them.

  2. well of you’re out to do a story on empty storefronts, then of course you will show empty storefronts..duh.
    No real reporting here. Just pandering

    1. Pandering, huh? Gee, silly me, but I found the article to be highly detailed and well-sourced in addition to being a hands-on, eyewitness account.
      But everything is fine in SF, right? No problems, right? Reporters are just keeping the myth of SF collapse alive for click-bait headlines? If so, why is the place hemorrhaging retail, including flagship stores and corporate retail that one would think could be protected by the larger corporation and thus survive, even if the survival hangs by a thread? E.g., Whole Foods, Nordstrom, Walgreen’s, and the list goes on? Even iconic historic Gump’s said they cannot remain open if the current situation doesn’t get better. It’s all just a pack of lies?

  3. This is what the people living in SF kept voting for, plain and simple. This is what the Wokesters want in SF, and they got it. What tourist would wanna visit SF only to see lots of stores permanently closed and then getting robbed/assaulted at the same time?

  4. I have heard from old timers that people used to get dressed up to go to San Francisco. Now it is like a Third World city.

  5. we left commiefornia, the Demoncrat-wasted state of my 70 years. We rediscovered America in Idaho where spray paint cans are not behind locked wire mesh, where you can go to a park at 10pm and not be paranoid, where sales tax, vehicle registration, energy to our home, and gasoline are all way less than the taxation-loving Democrats have imposed, and many of our neighbors fly the US flag.

    1. holy uneducated comment, batman. Someone has clearly bought, drank, and showered in Kool aid without actually following the money.

      Reality is, you’re gonna continue believing it’s all the Democrats fault. A comment on a random article isn’t going to change years of echo chamber consumption from furry “news” channels and their ilk, but for others, I highly recommend researching economics and political trends. You may learn something and become a part of society that makes things better.

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