Bloomie's Is a Go in San Francisco
The much-anticipated, but much-stalled Bloomingdale’s retail project in downtown San Francisco appears to be progressing. Chief developer Cleveland, Ohiobased Forest City Enterprises gained the support of mega-shopping- center manager Westfield America Trust, which will provide the project with key financing and operations support.
The plans are to break ground this fall for a $380 million retail project next to Westfield’s San Francisco Centre on Market Street and on the site of the shuttered Emporium department store. The combined 1.5 million-square-foot project, which will continue to be known as San Francisco Centre, should be completed by the summer of 2006, according to Forest City officials. The project will be located two blocks from posh Union Square and could inject some energy into the downtown retail core, which has suffered lately because of the collapse of the technology industry and a decrease in tourist traffic. The new Bloomingdale’s will offer access to Westfield’s San Francisco Shopping Centre with connecting walkways on five levels. The 102-foot-wide glass and steel dome and rotunda and the historic facade of the Emporium building will be restored. New offices, a nine-screen movie theater and 200 specialty stores will make up the remaining space.
Forest City has already gained the necessary entitlements from the city, but it still needs approvals from the San Francisco Redevelopment Commission. Mayor Willie Brown’s office has long supported the project, which is expected to generate 1,950 permanent jobs, 770 construction jobs, $9.7 million in annual taxes and more than $4 million for public transportation and other city improvements.
The project has been stalled for six years because of financing and litigation issues. In addition, the fallout from the 2001 terrorist attacks contributed to rising vacancies in Union Square, so conditions were not always desirable for the developers. But last year, Forest City overcame a lawsuit filed by preservationists opposed to the project. And with a new Four Seasons hotel nearby, tourist traffic is improving.
Forest City and Westfield officials estimate the project will attract 25 million shoppers a year. The debate around downtown retail circles is about whether the new center will grab market share from Union Square or add a new retail element to the area. With a Bloomingdale’s, the new center appears to be positioning toward a young, hip customer, while Union Square remains focused on the luxury crowd, said Carolyn Diamond, executive director of the Market Street Association, a downtown business association.
“We really won’t know for sure until they start signing more leases, but I talk to people who say they love Bloomingdale’s but they won’t travel to the nearest one, which is in Palo Alto, so this will be a boost,” said Diamond.
Westfield, an Australian company that has 63 properties in the United States and is the largest retail owner in California, will manage and lease the center.
“Joining these properties creates one vision for a world-class shopping experience that will tremendously benefit the city of San Francisco while becoming one of the premier retail destinations in the world,” said Peter Lowy, chief executive officer of Westfield. —Robert McAllister
