San Francisco Centre

The San Francisco Centre is a shopping mall located in San Francisco, California, United States, managed and co-owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and co-owned by Brookfield Asset Management. It is anchored by Bloomingdale's, and includes the Downtown Campus of San Francisco State University. It connected directly to the Powell Street station via an underground entrance on the concourse floor.

San Francisco Centre
The interior of the mall
Coordinates37°47′2″N 122°24′26″W
Address865 Market Street
San Francisco, California
94103
Opening dateOctober 1988
DeveloperSheldon Gordon - Gordon Group Holdings
ManagementUnibail-Rodamco-Westfield
OwnerUnibail-Rodamco-Westfield &
Brookfield Asset Management
No. of stores and services180+[1]
No. of anchor tenants2 (1 open, 1 vacant)
Total retail floor area1,564,533 sq ft (145,349.9 m2) (retail)
250,000 sq ft (23,000 m2) (office)[2][3]
No. of floors9 (5 in former Nordstrom, 6 in Bloomingdale's)
Public transit accessPowell Street station Bay Area Rapid Transit
Websitewestfield.com/sanfrancisco

History

Originally developed by Sheldon Gordon (co-developer of The Forum Shops at Caesars and Beverly Center) the center opened in October 1988 as San Francisco Shopping Centre with approximately 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of space, the then-largest Nordstrom store (350,000 square feet (33,000 m2)) on the top several floors, the first spiral escalator in the United States, and connecting through to the adjoining Emporium-Capwell flagship store.

After a slow start, it soon became one of the top performing shopping centers in the country. In 1996, the adjoining Emporium (it had dropped the Capwell name by then) was shuttered in the wake of Federated Department Stores' buyout of its parent, Broadway Stores. The vacated store was temporarily used as a Macy's furniture store while it renovated its Union Square flagship in 1997.

In May 1997, Urban Shopping Centers, Inc., a Real estate investment trust acquired a half-interest and management of the center. This was followed by Urban's own buyout by Rodamco North America N.V. (a European property firm primarily invested in the United States) in October 2000 and Rodamco's subsequent sale to a consortium including the Westfield Group in January 2002. Westfield acquired its initial 50% stake in the center at this time and soon bought the rest.

In 2003, Forest City, which had acquired redevelopment rights to the long-vacant Emporium store from Federated, reached an agreement with Westfield to jointly redevelop the two properties. Unveiled on September 28, 2006,[4] the newly expanded mixed-use Westfield San Francisco Centre (designed by the Kohn Pedersen Fox architectural firm, with Kevin Kennon as the Design Principal) includes Bloomingdale's West Coast flagship store, a nine-screen Century Theatres multiplex theater featuring 2 XD screens, a 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) Bristol Farms gourmet supermarket (closed January 2017), and the Downtown Campus for San Francisco State University in its 1.5 million+ ft² of space.

The redevelopment cost $440 million. Only the front facade and landmark dome of the original structure were preserved; the rest of the structure was completely gutted and replaced.[5] Upon completion of the project, Forest City became an equity partner and along with Westfield assumed responsibility for day-to-day management.[6] In March 2009, it was announced that Westfield San Francisco Centre shopping center was named as one of nine finalists vying for the title of “World’s Best Shopping Center” as part of the International Council of Shopping Centers Inc.’s inaugural “Best-of-the-Best” awards. Westfield San Francisco Centre ended up winning the "Best-of-the-Best" award for design and development; it was one of only four shopping centers in the world to win.[7]

In 2011, the San Francisco Police Department considered putting a substation in the mall to prevent rampant shoplifting.[8]

In the summer of 2021, a Shake Shack opened in the former Bristol Farms space.[9][10]

On May 2, 2023, it was announced Nordstrom would close by August 27, 2023, which left Bloomingdale's as the only anchor left.[11][12] The following month, Westfield and Brookfield announced that they would stop making loan payments and cede the property to lenders; the mall is expected to remain open during the transfer of control.[13][14] Mayor London Breed suggested that the mall could be redeveloped for another use, such as a soccer stadium,[15] while others have suggested food halls, pickleball courts, and animal shelters.[16] In September 2023, the owners of the American Eagle store filed a lawsuit claiming mall management has failed to "maintain the Common Areas at the mall which has poisoned public opinion" about safety.[17]

Layout

The shopping center is nine stories tall and is integrated into nearby buildings anchored by Bloomingdale's, with one vacant anchor previously occupied by Nordstrom, which closed in late August 2023.[18] The basement level is directly connected to two entrances for Powell Street station, which is served by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Muni Metro trains. The mall's owners paid $750,000 annually to BART to maintain access to the station.[19]

Anchors and major tenants

Former anchors and major tenants
  • Nordstrom (350,000 ft²; opened 1988, closed August 27, 2023)
  • Century Theatres & XD 9-screen multiplex (53,000 ft², closed June 15, 2023)
  • 845 Market Street, anchored by Bloomingdale's
    845 Market Street, anchored by Bloomingdale's
  • The entrance to 845 Market Street
    The entrance to 845 Market Street
  • The entrance to 865 Market Street
    The entrance to 865 Market Street
  • 865 Market Street, anchored by the former Nordstrom
    865 Market Street, anchored by the former Nordstrom
The dome within the shopping center.

See also

References

Notes

  1. "Westfield". Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  2. "Shaping Communities Nationwide | WSP".
  3. http://www.jcdecauxna.com/sites/default/files/assets/mall/documents/property/1101_sanfran.pdf
  4. Dorning, Amy Weaver (November/December 2006) "Department Store: 110-Year-Old Glamour" Archived October 20, 2007, at archive.today American Heritage Magazine
  5. Susan Saperstein. "Emporium Dome Celebrates 100". Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "ICSC announces Best-of-the-Best Award winners". May 18, 2009. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  8. Aldax, Mike (February 22, 2011). "Mall shoplifting pinches police". San Francisco Examiner. p. 5.
  9. Wells, Madeline (June 21, 2021). "Shake Shack in San Francisco's Westfield mall opens Monday". SFGATE. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  10. Guerrero, Susana (February 21, 2022). "This SF mall became a foodie paradise. Could it lead by example?". SFGATE. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  11. Gaus, Annie; Truong, Kevin (May 3, 2023). "Nordstrom's Exit From San Francisco Calls Downtown Mall's Future Into Question". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  12. "Nordstrom closes its San Francisco store after 35 years". CNN. August 28, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  13. Li, Roland (June 12, 2023). "Westfield giving up S.F. mall in wake of Nordstrom closure, plunging sales and foot traffic". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  14. Horowitch, Rose (June 12, 2023). "Westfield mall firm gives up San Francisco center as Nordstrom closes". The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  15. Council, Stephen (June 22, 2023). "London Breed suggests tearing down SF's Westfield Mall, replacing with soccer stadium". SFGate. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  16. McLean, Tessa (May 18, 2023). "Pickleball? A dog shelter? What is the future of Westfield San Francisco Centre?". SFGate. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  17. Baker, Alex (September 12, 2023). "Westfield mall operators sued by American Eagle over 'rampant criminal activity'". KRON4. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  18. Narayan, Shwanika (December 5, 2019). "Malls are yielding to office space. SF's Westfield is the latest example". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  19. Cano, Ricardo (June 14, 2023). "Westfiel's S.F. mall benefits from a rare arrangement with BART. Here's how much it costs the mall". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  20. "San Francisco State University Downtown Campus: Facilities & Services". cob.sfsu.edu. Retrieved September 15, 2021.

Sources

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