SF’s Union Square Staging a Comeback

Union Square, San Francisco’s famed shopping district, has been battered by a variety of challenges in recent years, including  the proliferation of remote work, a decline in tourism, public safety concerns and retail theft worries, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Several major retailers, including Nordstrom and Gap, have exited as a result.

But now the district is on the upswing, retail space brokers told the newspaper, with numerous new store openings and an ongoing stream of walk-throughs with potential tenants.

“Union Square has unmistakable momentum,” Marisa Rodríguez, CEO of the Union Square Alliance, told the Chronicle. “What we are seeing on the ground and hearing from (the) community absolutely aligns with a strong rebound.”

Some stats and retail names the Chronicle dropped to back up that assertion:

• In the third quarter, Union Square’s retail vacancy rate declined to 22.7% from 23.0% in the previous quarter, the first such decrease since 2022, according to brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. That’s expected to fall further with more leases in the works. Average monthly visitors in the third quarter rose 3% to 1.16 million, compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Union Square Alliance.
• New shops in the area include Labubu maker Pop Mart, Dandelion Chocolate and the upcoming return of Uniqlo, which closed during the pandemic. Hometown apparel giant Gap is also said to be considering a return, something brand CEO Mark Breitbard didn’t deny in a recent interview with the Chronicle.

Still, two major question marks remain in and near the square: the fate of the landmark Macy’s store at the square’s southern end, and that of the nearly empty 1.5 million-square-foot San Francisco Centre mall a few blocks away.

Both properties had major changes in the past month: Macy’s partnered with developer TMG to explore new uses at its building and said it would stay open. And after months of delay, lenders formally took ownership of the mall, and quickly ordered at least some of the last tenants to leave.

Despite those concerns, Ali McEvoy, a Maven Commercial retail broker, says San Francisco’s efforts to streamline business permitting, add ambassadors to guide tour groups and host more events in the square are further boosting the area.

“That’s created a sense of place,” McEvoy said. “When you go and shop, it’s not an empty square. There’s games to play, movies to watch.”