San Francisco is the epicenter of the urban doom loop discussion. It is a beautiful coastal city with mild weather, rich culture, great talents, leading tech titans and emerging clusters of GenAI start-ups. That said, commuting workers are not eager to return to offices full time. San Francisco’s office vacancy reached 17.3%, with stress especially manifested in Van Ness/Civic Center (41.2%), Yerba Buena (32.5%), and Jackson Square (24%). Many dinosaur office buildings sitting at premium locations remain deeply underutilized, giving business owners a second thought about the future of the city’s valuable commercial space. It begs these questions:
• If dynamic work is the new norm, what will happen to underutilized office space?
• Why is foot traffic in many other urban centers fully recovered (such as Las Vegas) or
close to a full recovery (such as San Jose), but not for San Francisco?
• What can the city do to recreate a critical mass and prevent an urban doom loop?
In this report, experts answer these questions and more while providing a detailed analysis of
San Francisco’s unique housing situation and potential for conversion.