SF aims to relax zoning rules to bring tenants to Union Square

San Francisco’s Union Square may get a breath of fresh air with new zoning rules meant to revitalize the upscale shopping district.

Mayor London Breed joined city officials to unveil a plan to boost Union Square by lifting zoning restrictions that have stymied retail prospects and leasing agents, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The city wants to amend rules that now require shops on the second and third floors of Union Square buildings, where demand has flagged for multistory flagship buildings. New rules would spur housing and offices above the first floor.

Also, the plan seeks to broaden ground-floor uses by attracting more food and beverage tenants.

The five-part strategic plan would increase security and cleanups, especially around Hallidie Plaza and the Powell Street corridor; launch new marketing campaigns; and expand hiring at the Union Square Alliance, the area’s community benefit district.

“There’s extraordinary opportunities to be creative here,” Breed said. “You could have a retail establishment on the first floor, an amazing restaurant on the second, and an office on the third. In the past many of our restrictions made it difficult to do that.”

Marisa Rodriguez, executive director of the alliance that performs services paid for by annual assessment of local businesses, said San Francisco must embrace change for its downtown to stay successful.

“Flexibility is the name of the game,” she said.

The alliance plans to recruit new retail tenants by creating a Tenant Recruitment Consortium, a partnership between the alliance, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and commercial brokers and building owners.

It also wants to work closer with the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks to increase the range of pop-ups and food venders.

Rodriguez and Breed hailed the potential benefits of pop-ups such as The Friends Experience and Samsung’s new technology showcase in the former Uniqlo store as ways to draw traffic and long-term tenants.

The alliance is working with city partners to add dance, skating, art and music.

The alliance, which covers 27 blocks and had 2021 revenue of $7 million, plans to hire at least three new full-time staff — a chief operating officer, chief of staff and executive assistant – plus a part-time chief financial officer as well as other positions and consultants to further a “strong economic development capacity,” Rodriguez said.

New marketing campaigns will “cultivate an authentic vibe” in advertising that promotes Union Square’s urban character with public art, light installations and the pop-up galleries.

“We don’t have all the answers yet,” Laurie Thomas, director of the largest local restaurant interest group, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, told the Business Times. “What’s encouraging though is that in order to improve, you first have to understand where you’re at.”

— Dana Bartholomew

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