(The Center Square) – Of 62 cities in the United States and Canada measured by the University of Toronto for downtown recoveries comparing mobile phones present in the spring of 2019 with spring of 2023, San Francisco placed absolute last.
Of the 62 cities compared, only four cities’ downtowns have increased in activity, with Salt Lake City, Bakersfield, Fresno, and El Paso having achieved any growth. Activity in San Francisco remains at a paltry 32% of pre-pandemic levels.
While crime and homelessness are often blamed for the “doom loop” afflicting San Francisco, a decline in office workers could also be responsible for driving the decline of the city’s businesses that earn their income selling goods and services to these workers.
Notably, at least 17 major retailers have left downtown since 2020, with Nordstrom’s flagship store the latest departure on August 28. In a statement, Jamie Nordstrom, the company’s chief stores officer, said, “the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”
Similarly, San Francisco hotels were ranked the cheapest among 30 California destinations this summer, coming in at an average of just $115 per night. Reflecting lack of travel demand, the owner of two of some of the city’s largest hotels, San Francisco Hilton Union Square and Parc 55, announced it would stop making payments on three quarters of a billion dollars in loans on the properties due to conditions in the city.
As news of gloom and doom dominates social media and the news, city leaders in San Francisco are taking a new tone and approach towards homelessness, crime and open-air drug use.
“When people reject offers of shelter, we should be able to enforce city laws,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed in a social media post denouncing a lawsuit blocking encampment sweeps in the city. “We are ready to resume enforcing the laws that we have been barred from using so we can bring people off the street and into shelter, and so we can keep our neighborhoods clean and safe for all.”
In the meantime, critics say not enough is being done to address the dramatic costs, falling demand, and high level of crime driving businesses out of the city.
“Progressives and Democrats always take wealth creation for granted,” said San Francisco Republican Party Chair John Dennis. “Until city leaders decide on policies to make it a good place to do business they’ll be stuck in this rut until then.”
