Category: San Francisco

The North Face location in Union Square is set to shut its doors later this month, adding to a rash of store closures in what has long been San Francisco’s premier shopping district. Three employees at The North Face location confirmed to The Standard that the store at 180 Post St. is closing on March 17. The outdoor recreation retailer has its roots in San Francisco, founded by Douglas and Susie Tompkins in the city as a mail-order rock climbing and camping supply company back in 1964. In 2000, the…

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Moderate, pro-development candidates appear to have won many of the spots on San Francisco’s Democratic County Central Committee, the little-known group with outsize power to sway close elections, also referred to as “the D-Triple-C.”  “These votes aren’t final yet, but the trend is sure compelling,” said moderate DCCC candidate Supervisor Matt Dorsey on X, formerly Twitter, early Wednesday morning.  Four years ago, progressives claimed all but two open seats on the DCCC. While the next round of tallies won’t be announced until Thursday at 4 pm, it seems that voters…

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Since the 1980s, the city has been focused on developing new homes on the east side of San Francisco, which is why our unanimously approved citywide housing plan concentrates on building more homes throughout the wealthier neighborhoods in the north and west sides of San Francisco, where development has been shut out for decades. But if we can’t add housing density on the Northeast Waterfront, or the Richmond, or the Marina, or Cow Hollow or Pacific Heights, or the Outer Sunset, where exactly are we supposed to build new homes? …

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The San Francisco Department of Elections is reporting results for the seven local propositions on the March 5 ballot. With just over 83,000 ballots counted, here’s what we know so far. Current results consist of vote-by-mail results received before election day.  Results released on election night are preliminary and will change in subsequent days as the Department of Elections continues counting ballots. For results for other races, see the city’s elections results website.  The department reported 16.6% voter turnout so far. Just over 500,000 voters are registered in San Francisco.…

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Helen Byrne, a 94-year-old San Francisco resident, is confronting the possibility of eviction from her lifelong home after real estate investors purchased her building. Byrne, who has lived in the same apartment since she was 12, is being threatened with displacement alongside her fellow long-term neighbors due to the building’s acquisition by an LLC in 2020, aiming to capitalize on the city’s high rental market. Advertisment Decades of Memories Versus Corporate Interests The Mission District, known for its vibrant culture and community, has been Byrne’s home for over eight decades.…

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More densely populated than anywhere in the country beyond New York City, San Francisco doesn’t have a lot of open space left to build on—and the higher into the sky you go, the scarcer and more expensive it gets. One fenced-off parcel stands out, though. Just a few blocks down from Twin Peaks’ dual summits, an extremely steep and undeveloped lot awaits 18 city-approved apartments, each of which will have that most sought-after of amenities: an unobstructed view of downtown San Francisco, the bay and the hills beyond.  At approximately…

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Senate Bill (SB) 1227, introduced by Senator Scott Wiener on February 15, 2024, would help speed the recovery of downtown San Francisco by creating a new CEQA exemption for qualifying commercial, institutional, student housing and mixed-use development projects in the Downtown Revitalization Zone, which includes the Financial District, Union Square, Eastern SOMA, Mid-Market, and Civic Center neighborhoods. SB 1227 would also create a new property tax exemption for moderate-income housing in the Downtown Revitalization Zone, as specified. Map: Proposed San Francisco Downtown Revitalization Zone NEW CEQA EXEMPTION As currently proposed,…

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San Francisco voters were deciding Tuesday on Proposition C, which allows for a one-time transfer tax exemption for property owners who convert office buildings to housing. The exemption would apply to the first sale of a property after its conversion. The transfer tax exemption would apply to property owners who get approval to convert commercial property to housing before 2030. The measure requires a simple majority to pass.  City properties valued at over $10 million have a transfer tax rate of 5.5% to 6%, higher than other large California cities. …

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