Program brings pop-ups to fill up vacant S.F. spaces
San Francisco’s Vacant to Vibrant program, which aims to fill a growing number of commercial spaces left vacant in downtown San Francisco in the wake of the pandemic with popups, is officially launching Friday.
At least one of the targeted storefronts was already buzzing in the preceding days.
As the work day began on Thursday, a line of about half a dozen people formed at suite 1113 in One Embarcadero Center, a commercial complex featuring office space, hotels and open-air retail spaces at the city’s waterfront. Deserted during the pandemic, the roughly 500-square-foot space at the corner of Sacramento and Front streets now cohouses two west side favorites: Devil’s Teeth Baking Co. and Green Apple Books.
The two small businesses have long been rooted in the Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods, respectively. This summer, they were among the 17 businesses selected from a pool of more than 800 applicants that vied to participate in the first cohort of the city’s Vacant to Vibrant program, a key component of a ninepronged plan put forth by Mayor London Breed earlier this year that aims to tackle some of the city’s pandemic-induced challenges.
These include a glut of empty offices that languish as remote work continues to be a preferred strategy by many office-based employers. The city’s office vacancy rate this summer reached 34.7%, according to data provided by real estate services firm CBRE.
“Finding creative ways to fill our empty storefronts is one of our key priorities for Downtown, whether that’s through policy reforms to remove unnecessary zoning and permitting barriers or creative programs like Vacant to Vibrant,” Breed said in a statement. “This is an exciting next step for a longawaited program that I know will be good for small businesses, residents, and visitors to enjoy.”
Retailers, restaurants and other small businesses that targeted the downtown lunch crowds have struggled to maintain their footing in the area, and many say that quality-of-life issues have only exacerbated their plight.
As part of the Vacant to Vibrant program, the downtown pop-ups — which also include a nonprofit, a radio station, a restaurant and an apparel brand — were matched by the city with downtown building owners to fill a total of nine storefronts. The tenants are supported with grants of up to $8,000 from the city; property owners received $5,000 to cover utilities and other costs.
Though there was considerable interest in the program, it’s temporary. While the pop-ups are guaranteed only three months, property owners have the option to continue them longer term. City leaders hope that more permanent relationships form as a result of the program.
Rod Diehl, a senior vice president and co-head of West Coast Regions with developer BXP, which owns the Embarcadero Center as well as downtown’s Salesforce tower, said that the pop-ups “are sure to add variety and interest to the restaurants, retail and service offerings” that remain in the area.
“Supporting local artists, entrepreneurs and small businesses is an important component of revitalizing the downtown experience and we look forward to expanding our participation in the program in the coming months,” Diehl said.