Receiver renames San Francisco Centre mall after defunct store chain

A mall by any other name is still a mall.

Trident Pacific Real Estate Group, the court-appointed receiver for the beleaguered San Francisco Centre mall at 865 Market Street, has decided to rename it the “Emporium Centre San Francisco,” the San Francisco Standard reported.

The Newport Beach-based receiver will pull down the old signs and hoist new ones as part of a multi-pronged attempt to breathe life into the half-empty, 1.45-million-square-foot mall near Union Square.

The new name is a nod to part of the mall’s former life as the Emporium, a department store chain that operated its flagship on Market Street from 1896 until it closed in 1996. 

New signage, logos and an updated website and social media channels will roll out in the coming weeks, Trident said.

The Emporium property, known for its skylit rotunda, was added to the former Westfield San Francisco Centre and is now mostly occupied by Bloomingdale’s, which takes up five floors.

In October, a judge appointed Gregg Williams of Trident Pacific to operate the mall on behalf of creditors after Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and New York-based Brookfield Properties stopped making payments on a $558 million loan tied to the nine-story property.

JLL, based in Chicago, was hired to manage the mall and serve as leasing agent.

The new operators launched a strategy for the mall’s comeback that includes trying to retain stores and restaurants, drawing new entertainment and dining, improving security and working to improve the surrounding neighborhood. 

Plans include bringing in medical, educational or tech tenants, while adding fitness, recreation, arts and cultural events.

In January, the mall was appraised at $290 million, down from its $1.2 billion valuation in 2016, according to Morningstar Credit Analytics, which cites special servicer commentary. 

Trident has vowed to keep the mall open, despite such high-profile shutdowns as Nordstrom and the Cinemark theater, with five store closures since the New Year.

— Dana Bartholomew

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