At a San Francisco Chamber of Commerce breakfast last month, Mayor London Breed made a curious pitch for the future of the troubled Westfield San Francisco Centre in Downtown.

“We have to look at Westfield mall, not as a mall losing stores, which probably most people didn’t even shop in, but as a place ripe for reimagining from science to technology to lab space,” Breed said. 

She echoed those statements during a radio interview last week, noting the potential for the property—a 1.2 million-square-foot mall in the middle of Market Street—to be used by higher education.

In retrospect, the comments read as softening the blow of Westfield’s decision, revealed days later, to give up the property because of declining sales, foot traffic and occupancy. 

READ MORE: Mayor Breed Accused of Gutting San Francisco Ethics Commission After FBI Probe

Part of Breed’s argument is that lab and research and development space have far lower vacancy rates than the broader office market. San Francisco’s 1 million square feet of lab inventory pales in comparison with traditional life science centers like the Peninsula (17 million square feet) or even Oakland (7.8 million square feet).

But is converting a major Downtown mall into a science hub feasible? The Standard consulted a number of life science brokers and developers, and the general consensus is that the concept is pretty much a nonstarter.

A employee at Westfield Mall cleans a staircase wall on the second level on Market Street in Downtown San Francisco on May 4, 2023. | RJ Mickelson/The Standard

One longtime developer of lab space said that life science companies and development thrive in specific clusters like Mission Bay and South San Francisco. Pitching a life sciences or lab space development in a notably troubled stretch of Market Street would be especially difficult, the developer said. 

There are also significant engineering and architectural barriers for life science conversions, which adds to the sheer cost of making space suitable for use as a research facility.

A life science conversions checklist put together by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield included criteria like high load capacities for heavy equipment, specialized HVAC, plumbing and electricity capacity, as well as high floor clearances.

Discussions of how to transform the declining mall had been in the works for years. The owners previously proposed a plan to turn around 50,000 square feet of retail space into offices, but those plans stalled due to Covid. 

When it comes to conversions into lab space, though, developers are often hunting for low-rise office buildings rather than a vertical shopping mall. 

“The quantities of hazardous materials allowed in a building decreases as the building height increases, which makes a life sciences conversion difficult in a high-rise office building,” said Gregg Domanico, who helps lead the life sciences practice for real estate firm CBRE in the Bay Area.

There’s also the fact that the economics of San Francisco’s real estate market are still not particularly favorable for developers interested in conversions. 

“There have not yet been any sellers of highly vacant office buildings in downtown San Francisco at a low enough price to make a conversion financially feasible for a developer,” Domanico said.

A proposal from Breed and Supervisor Aaron Peskin to lower the planning and zoning barriers for conversions in the city’s Downtown is still going through the legislative process. 

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Jason James, a former industrial and office broker with TRI Commercial who is now the president of Context Commercial Real Estate, said there are a number of properties in San Francisco currently struggling to garner interest as potential life science conversion projects. Turning a shopping mall into a lab space would be an even more significant challenge with a huge price tag.

James said the types of properties most in demand by tenants are new ground-up developments that “have all the bells and whistles a lab user would want. 

“I don’t want to be the guy telling the mayor she’s wrong, but I think she’s reaching for straws,” James said.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article stated Jason James was still working as a broker for TRI Commercial. He recently left to start his own company Context Commercial Real Estate.

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At a San Francisco Chamber of Commerce breakfast last month, Mayor London Breed made an odd proposition for the future of downtown’s troubled Westfield San Francisco Center.

“We need to think of Westfield Mall not as a mall that’s losing stores that probably most people haven’t even shopped in, but as a place ripe for a reinterpretation from science to technology to lab space,” said breed

She repeated those statements in a radio interview last week, citing the potential of the property — a 1.2-million-square-foot mall in the middle of Market Street — for college use.

In hindsight, the comments seemed to soften the blow of Westfield’s decision, revealed days later, to abandon the property due to declining sales, foot traffic, and occupancy.

Part of Breed’s reasoning is that laboratory, research and development space has far lower vacancy rates than the broader office market. San Francisco’s 1 million square foot lab inventory pales in comparison to traditional life science centers like the Peninsula (17 million square feet) or even Oakland (7.8 million square feet).

But is converting a large downtown mall into a science center feasible? The standard has consulted a number of life sciences brokers and developers and the general consensus is that the concept is hardly new.

A Westfield Mall employee cleans a stair wall on the second level of Market Street in downtown San Francisco on Thursday, May 4, 2023. | RJ Mickelson/The Standard

A longtime lab space developer said life sciences businesses and development are thriving in certain clusters like Mission Bay and South San Francisco. Planning a life sciences or laboratory space development in a particularly troubled part of Market Street is particularly difficult, the developer said.

Additionally, there are significant engineering and architectural hurdles to life sciences conversions, increasing the sheer cost of repurposing space for use as a research facility.

A life science remodel checklist compiled by real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield included criteria such as high loading capacities for heavy equipment, special HVAC, plumbing and power capacities, and high ground clearances.

For years there has been discussion about how the run-down shopping center can be redesigned. The owners had previously proposed a plan to convert around 50,000 square meters of retail space into offices but those plans fell through due to Covid.

However, when it comes to converting into laboratory space, developers often look for low-rise office buildings rather than a vertical mall.

“The levels of hazardous materials allowed in a building decrease as the building rises, making the life sciences transition in a high-rise office building more difficult,” said Gregg Domanico, who heads the life sciences practice at real estate company CBRE in the Bay Area.

In addition, the economic situation in the real estate market in San Francisco is still not particularly favorable for developers interested in remodeling.

“There have never been sellers of heavily vacant downtown San Francisco office buildings at a price low enough to make a remodel financially feasible for a developer,” Domanico said.

A proposal by Breed and Supervisor Aaron Peskin to lower planning and zoning barriers for downtown redevelopments is still in the legislative process.

Jason James, a veteran industrial and office broker at TRI Commercial, said there are a number of properties in San Francisco right now that are struggling to generate interest as potential life science conversion projects. Converting a mall into a lab space would be even more of a challenge, and at a huge cost.

James said the property types most sought after by renters are new, built from the ground up buildings that “have all the bells and whistles a lab user would want.”

“I don’t want to be the guy who tells the mayor she’s wrong, but I think she’s grasping at straws,” James said.

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Westfield San Francisco Center in 2022 in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Westfield San Francisco Center mall owners are giving up the land to lenders, adding to real estate woes in a city struggling to bring workers and tourists back in the wake of the pandemic.

The mall, jointly owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Brookfield Corp., has $558 million in outstanding mortgage debt. Management is delegated to a bankruptcy trustee.

The move comes a month after Nordstrom Inc. announced it was closing its store at the site, citing a drop in customer traffic and the city’s changing dynamics. The mall is located in the heart of San Francisco’s Union Square neighborhood, one of downtown’s premier shopping and tourist districts.

“Given the difficult operating conditions in downtown San Francisco that have resulted in declines in revenue, occupancy and footfall, we have made the difficult decision to initiate the process of transferring management of the mall to our lender so they can appoint one” The trustee will operate the property going forward,” Molly Morse, a spokeswoman for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said in the statement.

San Francisco has been among the hardest-hit cities since the pandemic as office vacancies soar, retail vacancies rise and security concerns deter visitors. Last week, Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. announced it was halting payments on loans to two downtown hotels with $725 million in outstanding debt.

Revenue at the Westfield San Francisco Center fell to $298 million last year from $455 million in 2019, while foot traffic fell 43%, Morse said. Traffic and sales at other Westfield properties increased during the same period.

The San Francisco Chronicle first reported on Westfield’s decision to default on his debts.

In a statement, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said the move “will take some time,” citing Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s plans to exit the US market entirely. The Paris-based company planned to “radically reduce our financial exposure to the US over the course of 2022 and 2023,” said CEO Jean-Marie Tritant.

“With new leadership, we have the opportunity to pursue a new vision for this space that focuses on the future of downtown San Francisco,” said Breed. “Whether it’s attracting new types of businesses or educational institutions, or creating a completely different experience, we need to be open to what’s possible.”

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In the first 66 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season, the Arizona Diamondbacks are among the biggest upsets. With 74 and 52 wins respectively in the last two seasons, the team has already won 40 games. She leads the National League West by 3 1/2 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers despite underspending compared to the rest of the division.

The Diamondbacks have $114.9 million in total wages, ranking 21st below the league average, while the San Diego Padres are third in the MLB with $246.9 million; The Dodgers rank fifth with $228.1 million, the San Francisco Giants 11th with $183.7 million, and the Colorado Rockies 14th with $179.5 million .

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Of course, the D-Backs are spending significantly more than last season’s $86 million and they’ll be looking to improve the team through the Aug. 1 close, according to general manager Mike Hazen. This spending comes while awaiting a decision from Diamond Sports Group on whether Bally will exit his $1.5 billion, 20-year contract with the regional sports network.

“We look to invest in the team when we think we have a better competitive opportunity,” managing partner Ken Kendrick said recently, “and we think this is one of those years.”

Leading the Diamondbacks are two of the best young players in the game in right-hander Zac Gallen and speedy outfielder Corbin Carroll. The latter signed an eight-year, $111 million deal ahead of the season. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who came on an offseason trade from the Toronto Blue Jays, also had a stellar season, and Ketel Marte has bounced back from a downseason and established himself at second base and at plate.

This year’s new MLB rules fit Arizona’s small-ball style—putting the ball in play, stealing bases, and hitting bases. The D-Backs are fifth in MLB with 63 stolen bases and no other team in their division comes close. They came back from a two-run deficit in the ninth inning on Sunday, scoring four goals and defeating the Tigers 7-5.

In their current pay structure, the D-Backs pay the balance of Madison Bumgarner’s contract of $18 million for this year, $14 million for next season, and a $5 million annual deferred salary from 2025 until 2027. Hazen has decided to release the veteran. He was named left-handed pitcher on May 1 after posting a 10.26 ERA in his just four starts, continuing a slide that began after he was in time for the season Signed with Arizona as a free agent in 2020.

“In the end I was told [by ownership] doing anything to win baseball games,” Hazen said.

Since Bumgarner was drafted, the D-Backs have gone 24-12, capped off by a recent 5-0 away win by Washington and Detroit.

Manager Torey Lovullo patched up the bullpen and starting rotation. He was juggling fleet-footed outfielders including Jake McCarthy and Alek Thomas as neither youngster matched his weight. That earned Lovullo a contract extension through the 2024 season, which he signed on June 4.

“My job is easy every day,” said Lovullo, whose nearly seven-year tenure as manager of the D-Backs is already the longest in the club’s history. “It’s about being there for the players, continuing to grow and learn and do the best I can.” We’ve had some very lean years here, but we’re moving in the right direction and we’re coming at the other end out again.”

Local fans are starting to get it. The D-Backs’ total viewership of 706,873 ranks 19th in MLB and their average per game is 20,790 ranked 20th; A total of 96,399 viewers recently attended a tumultuous three-game series against the Atlanta Braves. Total attendance is on par with last year’s average of 19,817, but well above 2021’s 12,876 per game for the entire 81-game home schedule.

As Lovullo said, “We’re trying to win back the hearts and minds of these fans and we still have a long way to go.”

At the same time, Kendrick and President Derrick Hall continue to explore the future of Chase Field; The ballpark opened in 1998 for the club’s first expansion season and the current lease with Maricopa County expires after the 2027 season.

The building, which is the fourth largest in MLB with a capacity of 48,519, has numerous internal plumbing and electrical problems. The retractable roof, which has cable problems, was due for a $10 million repair during the offseason, but that didn’t happen. It still cannot be opened or closed while customers are in the seats.

The Arizona state legislature passed a bill in 2021 that would allow the D-Backs to levy an additional fee of up to 9% on tickets, concessions and merchandise sold at the park, around the $500 million Funding a $2 billion renovation of the current baseball stadium or the construction of a new facility at the heart of an entertainment complex that could cost up to $2 billion. That’s similar to the $2.1 billion development proposal from the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes that Tempe voters rejected last month.

The D-Backs are looking for another location near their current ballpark in downtown Phoenix, but are reluctant to require their customers to pay such a high occupancy fee for the remodeling or renovation. Decisions must be made on this front.

“Obviously we’re coming to a critical moment,” Hall said during a recent press conference.

Arizona won the 2001 World Series against the New York Yankees but has only made the playoffs four times since then, the most recent being in 2017 — the first year for Hazen and Lovullo in the franchise. On the field at least, the D-Backs are on track as the season nears halftime.

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Robert Milton began his day, as he has done so many times over the past three decades, by filling a garbage truck with garbage.

Discarded sofas. mattresses Whole blocks full of abandoned trash. He has seen everything.

“As fast as we pick it up, they put it down,” he said. “It’s a never-ending fight.”

Behind him, a group of cleaners from the city’s contracted garbage truck company Recology and the city’s public works shoveled piles of trash that clogged the streets near the intersection of Jennings Street and Egbert Avenue.

In recent years, San Franciscans have weathered a deluge of garbage.

Complaints to 311 have increased; Public works contracts have risen and Recology staff have collected millions of pounds of illegally dumped rubbish each year. In some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods, city sanitation workers have increased their collection services. The board increased fines for dump-and-run scoffers.

But other efforts failed. The number of subpoenas has dropped dramatically since 2019, and years after the city announced it would use license plate-reading cameras to catch trash scoffers in hard-hit neighborhoods, the devices are nowhere to be found.

And the garbage keeps coming.

In 2022, the city received over 200,000 complaints about its garbage disposal — more than four times more than a decade ago. In 2012, the city received around 45,000 complaints.

San Francisco Public Works defines illegal dumping as leaving trash, trash, or discarded items on public streets. It can be something as innocuous as a bookshelf on the sidewalk, or bags of trash next to a public bin — or dumping vast amounts of construction waste in deserted areas.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, complaints about illegal garbage disposal mounted in many Bay Area communities, and cities across the country reported increases in garbage collection. That was due to the shift to remote work, which led to more personal garbage in homes, and homeowners finally getting around to making long-overdue renovations and remodels.

In some parts of the city, garbage is everywhere. Residents call the city’s 311 customer service number an average of 14,000 to 17,000 times a month to complain about abandoned trash, according to a Chronicle analysis of four years of call data. Public Works internal data shows that abandoned waste disposal orders for its packer trucks peaked in 2022 and have declined slightly this year.

Complaints about illegal dumping at 311 are generally filed under the “street and sidewalk cleaning” category and include calls about bulky items, liquids, and other loose debris on the street. Data does not include duplicate cases where multiple calls are made regarding the same illegal dumping incident.

Part of the increase in 311 complaints could be due to the complaints system being easier to use, public works spokeswoman Rachel Gordon said, admitting she didn’t want to downplay the challenge of illegal landfills across the city. Nonetheless, complaints of illegal dumping now make up a larger share of all 311 complaints, rising from just over 25% before the pandemic to almost 35% afterwards.

“People are devastating our city,” she said. “How do we get away from this?”

A recent report from the city’s Controller’s Office concluded that high-traffic commercial corridors are hotspots for illegal dumping compared to residential areas. Data from the report shows that San Francisco’s commercial zones were dirtier overall than residential streets and sidewalks.

In 2022, the Central Waterfront neighborhood had between 1,300 and 311 illegal landfill reports per 1,000 residents — the highest in the city among neighborhoods with more than 500 residents. The mission followed with 730 reports. Another area with many complaints was Portola, particularly on roads near the intersection of Interstate 280 and Highway 101. One intersection — at San Bruno Avenue and Bacon Street — had more than 700 complaints between 2019 and 2022.

“People throw it out there because they know someone else is taking care of it,” said Alex Hobbs of the Portola Neighborhood Association. “It’s a common thread of complaints with pretty much everyone I speak to in the neighborhood. … It really hurts civic pride.”

Another area that drew hundreds of complaints last year was 12th Avenue and Clement Street in Inner Richmond. After a house burned down in the area, debris landed at the intersection for months before finally being removed, residents said.

In the Mission or the Haight, city workers often see litter when tenants move out, and they or their landlords dump the contents of the apartments outside.

Bayview Hunters Point is a common landfill, Gordon said. Many blocks are filled with warehouses and there is hardly any traffic on the street after dark or on weekends.

“There aren’t many eyes all the time,” Gordon said.

Trash mockers often leave couches and trash bags along Carroll Avenue — a six-block strip of asphalt. Its east end lies between a waste disposal company and Grand Roofing, where Michel Mikery worked for nearly 20 years. Over the years he’s watched the heaps of rubbish just by the side of the road.

“It’s very difficult,” he said. “Customers are afraid to come here because they think it’s not safe.”

As garbage problems mounted, Public Works has pumped millions of dollars into its Bayview operations. Gordon said crews have switched from crossing the neighborhood twice a week to five days a week. She estimates that illegal garbage disposal in Bayview costs the city $1.9 million annually.

On Monday, for example, Milton and his crew would start their morning at Jennings and Egbert’s and then spend hours zigzagging the streets surrounding the neglected Candlestick Park. Milton has worked on the cleaning crews of these streets for years, and the burly 51-year-old knows every landfill in the area.

Egbert, Gilman, Carroll – he’s rattling around with the dumps in quick succession.

They often pick up most of the trash from areas near homeless camps, where area residents leave their old belongings, he said.

“People see homeless camps and use them as landfills,” he said. “Who will bring a bedroom furniture to his camp?”

Recology responded to more than 100,000 of those 311 calls last year, said Robert Reed, a company spokesman, and in the process collected £8.8million of left behind or illegally dumped rubbish – A Down by around £2million since the peak of the pandemic.

Many residents may not be aware that in addition to regular garbage collection from Recology, they can also contact the company to arrange free collection of bulky items.

Milton estimates his workers could pick up 12 tons of trash from around Bayview every week, aided by a packer truck that follows them for three hours each day.

“It’s job security,” said Recology employee Hugo Santoyo, laughing as Milton’s team shoveled trash onto the back of his truck. “It’s a good, honest job. Someone has to do it.”

The city has tried to curb illegal landfills — with little success. If emergency responders can find out who dumped the trash, they will issue a subpoena, Milton said. In 2020, the board of directors increased maximum fines for garbage disposal to $1,000 per offense per day.

But the department issues subpoenas in only a fraction of illegal dumping cases — and that number has been declining in recent years, Gordon said.

A review of public works citation data shows that in 2019, the department’s staff issued nearly 17,000 warnings and citations related to illegal waste disposal. That number dropped to about 2,200 in 2020 and about 3,800 the following year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, inspectors issued about 6,600 summonses.

Gordon attributed the decline to the relocation of some employees due to the department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other staffing shortages.

In March, in response to concerns about street cleanliness, regulators voted to bolster Public Work’s street cleaning and graffiti removal efforts with a $25 million budget increase. The department’s total budget for 2022–23 was approximately $360 million.

After years of delays, the city also plans to install 10 moving license plate reader cameras in known hotspots in Bayview to catch trash scoffers. The city proposed the plan in 2020 but delayed the process to switch providers, Gordon said.

“We want to catch the perpetrators, take action against them and scare people away,” she said. “You won’t always know where the cameras are.”

They’re also examining strategies other cities have employed — in Los Angeles, for example, authorities have begun impounding cars and trucks caught in illegal dumping.

And now residents across the city have taken matters into their own hands, with groups like Refuse Refuse San Francisco holding meetings for residents to help beautify their neighborhoods.

“Even though we treat the symptoms, it works,” said the group’s founder, Vince Yuen.

On a recent Thursday, half a dozen volunteers swarmed through downtown Richmond, using grab claws to scoop up debris from sidewalks on blocks north and south of Clement Street.

“Why search the streets when the garbage is back a week later?” asked one of the volunteers.

“Why are you making your bed?” Yuen answered. “Why clean your house?”

Reach St. John Barned-Smith: stjohn.smith@sfchronicle.com, reach Adriana Rezal: adriana.rezal@sfchronicle.com

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EAGAN, Minn. (AP) – NFL owners on Monday approved a rule change that allows teams to play an emergency quarterback from the inactive list if the first two are injured during a game, a decision stemming from San Francisco’s depth US chart challenge results in NFC championship game.

The bylaws were originally proposed by the Detroit Lions. The third quarterback designation does not count against the active player limit (either 47 or 48) set 90 minutes before kickoff.

Emergency Activation can only occur following an injury or disqualification, not as a result of a performance decision or other conduct. If one of the first two quarterbacks is cleared to return to the game by the team’s medical staff, the third must be removed from the game and may return as a quarterback only if an injury scenario recurs.

If a team puts three quarterbacks on the active list for a game, they cannot use the contingency option. An increase in the training squad on the day of the match is also not permitted.

49ers running back Christian McCaffery had his arm warmed up at the NFC Championship game in Philadelphia after Brock Purdy injured his elbow and Josh Johnson suffered a concussion. Purdy was pushed back into the game but couldn’t throw the ball more than 10 yards because the 49ers abandoned their game plan for a run-heavy attack in the 31-7 loss to the Eagles on Jan. 29.

NFL Commissioner Roger Godell attends the NFL Owners Meetings at the Omni Hotel in Eagan, Minnesota on Monday, May 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Andy Clayton-King

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay speaks to reporters at the NFL Owners Meetings at the Omni Hotel on Monday, May 22, 2023 in Eagan, Minn. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Andy Clayton-King

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The 49ers had already lost their two best quarterbacks — Trey Lance in Week 2 and Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13 — to season-ending injuries.

The league’s owners held their spring meetings Monday in Minnesota, with the upcoming sale of Dan Snyder’s family’s Washington Commanders to Josh Harris’ group remaining a major, if not urgent, issue. There will be no vote on the record $6.05 billion transaction this week.

“There are certain criteria that have to be met, and that’s the way it is. It’s not there yet, but that doesn’t mean it can’t get there. It’s complicated. Say it like this. I could explain it to you, but it wouldn’t tell you anything,” said Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, a member of the league’s finance committee.

Neither Snyder nor his wife, Tanya, came to Minnesota for the meeting. The league wants to approve the deal before the start of the regular season, Irsay said. Irsay said the amount of money at stake and the number of investors involved in Harris’ group – which includes National Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson – have lengthened the approval process.

“We work hard. Everyone wants to make it and needs to make sure it’s within league guidelines. It’s a complicated deal so we’re trying to just work through it and we’re confident we can pull it off. It will likely be several more weeks of discussion before we see if we can reach the finish line,” Irsay said.

___

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SAN FRANCISCO — Last year, with pandemic lockdowns in its rearview mirror, Whole Foods Market made a bet on a grim San Francisco neighborhood. The high-end supermarket chain opened a massive flagship store in a part of the city that’s home to both tech companies like Twitter and open-air drug stores.

But the business soon found itself head-on with many of the problems that plagued the area. People threatened employees with guns, knives and sticks. According to records of 568 emergency calls over 13 months, many of which showed scenes of chaos, they threw food, screamed, fought and tried to defecate on the ground.

“Man with machete is back,” says the report of an emergency call. “Another guard just got attacked,” says another. A man with a 4-inch knife attacked several security guards and then sprayed store employees with foam from a fire extinguisher, according to a third party.

In September, a 30-year-old man died in the bathroom from an overdose of fentanyl, a potent opioid, and methamphetamine.

When Whole Foods announced in mid-April that it was closing the store citing the safety of its employees, many in San Francisco saw it as some of the city’s most persistent problems: property crimes like shoplifting and car break-ins, an entrenched network of dealers selling fentanyl and other illegal drugs Selling drugs and people suffering from untreated mental illnesses roaming the streets.

The closure also appeared to be the latest indicator of San Francisco’s faltering economic outlook, and provided more material for an ongoing debate about where the city is headed after tying its fate to the tech industry. The Whole Foods was intended to cater to technicians and other professionals, part of a long-term downtown redevelopment plan. But the business fell victim to a crushing downtown decline that began with the pandemic and could last for years as companies vacate offices to work remotely.

In a city famous for its boom-and-bust cycles, San Francisco’s ongoing slump has residents in a bad mood, angry at city leaders and waiting for the spark of revival. Now, largely because the tech industry has so fully embraced work-from-home, activity in downtown San Francisco remains at about a third of pre-pandemic levels — according to a new study that used cellphone data as a, lower than in about 50 other major cities a measure.

“This is going to be a very slow recovery,” Effi Shoua said this month from behind his desk at the downtown art gallery he owns in Union Square. The area is a prime spot for tourists who are steadily returning to the city, a bright spot and a contrast to the 26 percent vacancy rate for downtown offices.

Many merchants fear a domino effect of business failures, with office workers being permanently absent for about half the week, while people using drugs, experiencing mental health crises or living on the streets remain more visible than ever.

The impact on the city’s budget is also significant: the office industry accounts for almost three quarters of the city’s gross domestic product. After years of surpluses, the government now projects a deficit of $780 million over the next two fiscal years — a roughly 6 percent cut in its general fund, according to the mayor’s office.

City officials say they are looking at ways to diversify the economy and reduce homelessness and drug trafficking. They realize that some of the largest local employers, Big Tech companies, aren’t going to pull San Francisco out of its economic shoals. Twitter, Google, Facebook and Salesforce, all of which have offices in the city, have laid off thousands of workers.

San Francisco executives point out that the city has continued to bounce back, even after the near-collapse of the tech industry in 2000 and the national recession some eight years later.

“We’ve been tallied before and there have been others who have tried to imply it’s over because things aren’t happening as quickly or as they think it’s over,” said London Breed, the city’s mayor in an interview.

In the famously liberal city, where Republicans make up just 7 percent of voters, moderate Democrats like Mayor Breed are calling for aggressive moves to address public safety concerns, while progressive voices denounce law-and-order strategies as knee-jerk responses that trample on the weak .

City guides face some limitations. A federal judge ruled in April that San Francisco can’t evict the homeless from public spaces because it hasn’t done enough to provide shelter. Mayor Breed supports bills in the state legislature that would make it easier to coerce people with mental illness into treatment. The mayor has also proposed tackling homelessness through more building: cutting the construction permitting process with a goal of building 83,000 additional homes — a 20 percent increase over the city’s current total housing stock — in eight years.

Though downtown is littered with “For Rent” signs, the city’s unemployment rate is below 3 percent, and the mayor and other officials say the engineering talent pool remains the city’s greatest asset. And San Francisco has a lot more to offer than downtown. It’s always been a constellation of very diverse neighborhoods, some with very few of the social ills that plague the area near the closed Whole Foods.

Officials add that downtown could eventually become more resilient as it attracts industries like life sciences and biotechnology whose employees still need workspaces. The tech industry is also growing: the development of artificial intelligence, which promises to change the way people live and work, is concentrated in San Francisco.

Garry Tan, president of Y Combinator, a well-known venture capital firm, says he sees signs of renewal in San Francisco. “It’s always the gold rush,” he said.

Mr. Tan belongs to a generation of tech workers who are more confident in their demands of city officials and unafraid to take sides in the city’s murderous politics and fund organizations that are pushing for a greater emphasis on public safety.

“Now the narrative is out there for some of the founders in our community, I’m not sure I feel safe here. I’m not sure if I want to stay here. The quality of life issues are the issue. Can I start a family here?”

In early April, some tech leaders took the fatal stabbing downtown of Bob Lee, a prominent industry leader, as an alarming sign that downtown was unsafe. But an acquaintance was later charged, and San Francisco’s murder rate is quite low compared to other major cities. Overall, police statistics show fewer property and violent crimes in 2022 than in 2018, before the pandemic began.

Still, Bill Scott, the city’s police chief, says many residents complain that they feel less safe, and outdoor drug use, much of which is tied to fentanyl, is a major contributor.

Matt Dorsey, a board member who lives steps from the closed Whole Foods, said the recent election signaled a shift in voter priorities. He pointed to last year’s dismissal of progressive district attorney Chesa Boudin, who was replaced by a prosecutor who promised to crack down on crime.

“San Francisco is in the midst of a voter revolt over public safety,” said Mr. Dorsey. In a poll conducted by the San Francisco Chronicle in September, nearly two-thirds of respondents said life in the city is worse than when they first moved here.

New district attorney Brooke Jenkins has started prosecuting more drug-related offenses than Mr. Boudin, but the city saw a 40 percent increase in fatal drug overdoses in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. Citing those statistics, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday authorized an anti-narcotics task force in San Francisco that will include members of the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol Police.

The mayor and police chief have promised to hire hundreds of additional officers, which would expand the force by more than a quarter, a difficult feat when law enforcement agencies across the country are facing bottlenecks.

Not everyone is on board.

Dean Preston, a board member who was re-elected on a Democratic-Socialist platform in 2020, opposes an increase in police staffing and says calls for more public safety are overblown.

“There has been a massive propaganda effort to change public opinion about policing and public safety,” he said.

Mr. Preston uses his district as an example of how uneven the pandemic recovery has been. Some areas like Japantown and Haight Ashbury are thriving, he said. Others, like the Tenderloin, which sits next door to the closed Whole Foods, are riddled with drug dealing and homelessness.

One of the next big tests for downtown could be the expected opening of an Ikea store this summer not far from the Whole Foods location.

Police described theft as rampant at Whole Foods, with thieves walking away with an armful of alcohol, at least initially. After 250 shopping baskets were stolen, the company refilled 50 more. Those are gone too.

According to official reports, at least 14 people have been arrested in the 13 months that the store has been in operation, on charges including theft and assault. Chief Scott said plainclothes officers were sent there and security has been improved over time, but apparently not enough for the company.

On a recent chilly night across from the closed store, Joseph Peterson, a former construction worker who lost both legs to diabetes and is homeless, rolled down the sidewalk in his wheelchair. Mr. Peterson was able to see the 2,000-unit Trinity Apartments, the high-end complex that Whole Foods had hoped would become its client base. Across the street, security guards were standing outside the Orpheum Theater, where Pretty Woman: The Musical was playing. A few dozen steps away, vendors sold fentanyl and crystal meth.

Mr Peterson said he understood why Whole Foods closed the store.

“People kept stealing from it,” he said. He, too, has taken macaroni and cheese and chicken from the warm snack bar several times, he said. But he made a difference. Other people stole from the store because they wanted to resell what they had taken.

“I only stole mine to eat,” he said.

Alain Delaquérière, Susan C. Beachy, and Kitty Bennett contributed to the research.

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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A power outage at Millbrae BART station early Monday morning halted train traffic to San Francisco International Airport amid the onslaught of travelers either returning home or leaving the Bay Area after the Christmas holiday weekend.

Traffic officials reported the outage around 5 a.m. and immediately erected a SamTrans bus bridge to take passengers to the airport and also to the San Bruno train station of the transit system.

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“There is a train station closure in Millbrae,” said traffic officials. “There is no train connection on the Millbrae Line between Millbrae and San Bruno or SFO due to a power outage at Millbrae station.”

The outage also caused a significant delay on the San Francisco line towards the East Bay. There was no ETA as to when service would be restored.

Other issues also contributed to the BART issues on Monday morning.

“Due to several decommissioned trains, power failure at Millbrae station and wet weather conditions, there is a limited service system,” said traffic officials in a warning.

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The service outage was just the newest challenge for leisure travelers. On Sunday there were 46 flights from SFO and 230 flight delays. Then there was the new COVID test requirement for international travel.

“It’s stressful, absolutely stressful. We’re just trying to take it as it comes and that’s all you can do, ”said Sandra Brown, who was planning to travel to Vancouver, Canada with her family on Sunday. “We had to rebook once today because our flight was canceled.

There were long lines at check-in and security counters and even longer waiting times for those who need a rapid COVID test on flights to overseas destinations.

Jordan Simon showed up the day before his flight to Southeast Asia because he wasn’t sure he would get a test before his flight on Monday.

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“I think it’s a terrible line, I think it’s a terrible line,” he said as he stood on the test line. “From up there they say that if you are here you have to wait three hours. So it’s like a five-hour line. ”

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Winemaking has never been an easy business, but many in the industry say this year has been one of the toughest in recent times.

California winemakers, still recovering from last year’s scorching forest fires, anticipate another year of historic drought as retailers and restaurants are hit by the shift in consumer behavior sparked by the pandemic.

Now the industry is also confronted with massive bottlenecks in the supply chain. Delays in ports have left shops and importers reliant on foreign shipments with no inventory. This has disrupted local bottling, labeling and wine-growing businesses.

“2021 just won’t work,” said Stuart Smith, founder of Smith-Madrone Winery on Napa’s Spring Mountain. “Everywhere you go, things that were easy are no longer easy.”

Stuart Smith, right, founder of Smith-Madrone Winery, helps press the grapes at the winery in St. Helena, California on Wednesday, September 8, 2021. (Courtesy Smith-Madrone Winery)

As the pandemic progressed, Smith struggled to get the most basic necessities like PVC pipes or galvanized fittings for sprinklers and fire fighting. “It’s not just about winemaking. It’s all, ”he said. “Right after the glass fire, I needed more chainsaws – I couldn’t get one.”

All of this happens while he struggles to find water for his thirsty vines. “This is a colossal, historic drought,” said Stuart. “We’re all scared because we’re running out of water and our reservoirs are empty.”

But not only winemakers feel the pinch. An entire branch of bottlers, label manufacturers and cooperatives is also feeling the strain caused by the overloading of the ports.

“The word disruptive doesn’t describe how dire the situation is,” said Erica Harrop, founder of Global Package, which supplies glass bottles to high-end Napa wineries. “It’s total chaos”.

Harrop said freight costs have skyrocketed as demand for goods has increased. Meanwhile, ports don’t have enough dockers, dockers or truckers to keep the flow of goods going, resulting in a backlog of products waiting to be reloaded. Those additional costs, she said, are passed on to her customers and ultimately to consumers.

“We fill around 20,000 bottles in a container. And if it costs $ 20,000 to ship, that’s a pretty straightforward calculation, ”she said. “With glass, this has an immediate effect on the cost of the product.”

On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced a plan to keep the Port of Los Angeles open “24 hours a day, seven days a week,” reflecting the already extended opening hours in the Port of Long Beach to move more goods faster.

However, companies that buy inventory months in advance remain affected by the delays. Josh Trowbridge, CEO of Tonnellerie Ô, a Benicia-based barrel maker, said he waited a month to receive a shipment of wood from a ship docked outside Half Moon Bay.

“It was just so frustrating,” he said. “What you need is right there, and it’s not even in port.”

Trowbridge watched wood prices skyrocket during the pandemic as people stuck at home focused on home improvement projects. Just this week he was told that the price of French timber would rise by 20-30%. Combined with the increased cost of shipping goods, he fears that his barrels will be unaffordable for many wineries in the years to come.

Wine label makers are also getting into trouble as paper is scarce and demand for such services explodes.

“Demand for wine had gone above the charts in the past year and a half,” said Travis Pollard, vice president of ASL Print FX in Napa Valley, finding that business had grown 57% over the past year.

However, satisfying this demand has been challenging as paper suppliers have moved to making products from corrugated cardboard that are easier for online retailers like Amazon to make, as opposed to fine paper, which is needed for wine labels.

“The availability of the raw components for making this paper is tight,” said Pollard. “What we are seeing is a huge change in the way people shop and the huge impact this is having on our industry.”

The disturbance is already seeping through to local wine shops.

Some of the cheaper wine selections at Decant SF on Thursday, October 14, 2021. (Kevin N. Hume / The Examiner)

“If you look at the shelves at Gemini, you can see it all along the line,” says Dominique Henderson of San Francisco’s Gemini Bottle Co., which focuses on natural wines from small producers. “You see a Riesling bottle and there is something like Pinot in it, or there is Blaufrankisch in it or something, because people have ordered whatever vessels there were.”

As the holidays get closer, wine stores try to figure their way around how to stock the shelves when there is less wine and it takes a lot longer to arrive.

French wines were particularly hard hit this year as frost, bad weather and mold ravaged the vineyards. “Champagne was very difficult to come by,” said Simi Grewal, co-founder of Decant SF. “Our shelves are definitely a lot lighter than usual.”

The champagne department at the Decant SF wine shop on Thursday October 14th, 2021. (Kevin N. Hume / The Examiner)

Yet when Grewal tries to convey this inedible reality to their customers, the warning is often answered with a collective shrug. “They kind of laugh at it like, ‘Oh, champagne problems,’ but it’s like, ‘No, literally,'” she said. “If you know you want to ship 100 bottles or 50 bottles of something, we need to start planning now.”

jwolfrom@sfexaminer.com

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