San Francisco's former downtown mall eyed for AI data center
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The mall has been closed since January. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
San Francisco's shuttered downtown mall could get a second life hosting an AI data center, a proposal that's raising questions about what the city wants from one of its most important redevelopment sites.
Why it matters: The former San Francisco Centre mall has become a symbol of downtown's struggles since the pandemic.
- What replaces it could help determine whether the surrounding stretch of Market Street becomes a bustling destination again or remains a collection of empty storefronts.
Driving the news: Maryland-based KG Growth Partners is working with an unidentified technology company interested in buying the mall and converting part of it into an AI facility, the SF Chronicle reports.
- Jared Krieger, the company's CEO, told the SF Standard that this "would not be a data center in the traditional sense."
- Instead, the proposal calls for dedicating roughly one-third of the property to technology operations, with the rest reserved for retail, cultural attractions, sports, educational spaces and rooftop greenery, Krieger told the Standard.
- "The model is a conversion that keeps the ground floor and the public-facing levels of the building active and open, with the technical use in the upper floors and back-of-house space," the Chronicle quoted Krieger as saying in an email.
- "Downtown San Francisco has a vacancy problem in exactly this building type, and the premise is that reuse with a mixed public and technical program does more for the block than a dark box does."
Catch up quick: The mall closed in January after years of losing major retailers, including Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, leaving a massive hole in a neighborhood already struggling to attract foot traffic, shoppers and visitors.
- Previous ideas for the property have included housing and sports facilities, but efforts to secure a buyer have fallen through.
- Meanwhile, city leaders have made bringing people back downtown a cornerstone of the city's economic recovery.
Reality check: Nearby businesses worry the project would do little to restore the foot traffic they desperately need. One longtime shop owner told The Guardian her sales have fallen at least 60% since the mall closed.
What's next: The proposal faces several hurdles, including securing the property, city approvals and community support.
- Mayor Daniel Lurie also recently signed a 45-day moratorium on new data centers while officials study their potential effects.
The bottom line: For downtown's recovery, filling the mall is only half the challenge. What matters just as much is giving people a reason to come back.