Can San Francisco Be Saved?
As San Francisco becomes a ghost town, real estate values plunge and companies flee, can anything be done?
“Empty offices, abandoned malls, concerns over crime: Why San Francisco, the Golden City, is losing its luster,” wrote Al Yoon for Business Insider on June 17, 2023.
The news is suddenly pouring out of San Francisco, and none of it is good. Yoon’s take is, compared to that of so many other media outlets, fairly rosy. Most of the recent headlines have been much worse and even less optimistic about the future of San Francisco.
San Francisco isn’t just losing its luster, according to a growing list of business leaders, journalists, and analysts: San Francisco has lost its luster.
“Commercial real-estate landlords are giving up on once trophy San Francisco properties,” concluded Yoon. “A lack of hope among real-estate owners stems from office vacancies, but crime is also a factor. Expect the downtown’s downturn to worsen before it gets better said Manus Clancy of Trepp.”
“What’s really going on with crime in San Francisco?” Zachary B. Wolf attempted to explain for CNN on May 3, 2023. Like so much of the deferential news coverage surrounding the crisis, Wolf’s explanation probably left readers with more questions than answers.