San Francisco

11,000 Housing Units Possible with S.F. Office Conversions, Study Says
A new study by SPUR and the Urban Land Institute’s San Francisco chapter estimates a specific number of apartment units that could be built from vacant office units in the city.

Proposed Pool Would Make an Olympic-Sized Play Area in the San Francisco Bay
The San Francisco Bay is usually an undesirable place to swim, except for a hearty few. A development proposal seeking assistance at the state level would add a pool to the Bay’s waters to make the idea of going for a swim more appealing.

San Francisco Nonprofit Accused of Neglecting Tenants, Misusing Funds
A major housing organization with city contracts is neglecting poor housing conditions in its buildings while amassing lobbying power and political influence.

Backlash to San Francisco Development Spotlights City’s Conflicting Priorities
Residents of the Bayview neighborhood say they support new housing, but object to a proposed building that would replace one of the area’s only green spaces.

The Perilous Future of Bay Area Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit, a hugely successful system pre-pandemic, is now struggling to close a massive projected budget gap, with no certain solutions on the table.

Pandemic-Era Economic Growth in Metropolitan Areas
The world has gone through three turbulent years of Covid-19. The Brookings Institution continues its analysis of inclusive economic growth in 192 metropolitan areas in the U.S. during this period with the publication of Metro Monitor 2023.

Delays in Power Hookups Force New Buildings To Sit Empty
Hundreds of residential and commercial buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area are vacant, waiting for electric connections from PG&E.

Austin Scores Highest on Pandemic Recovery; Bay Area and Baltimore Lowest
The Bay Area Council and CBRE created an economic tracker to measure how well the nation's 25 largest metropolitan areas have recovered from the public health restrictions imposed on their regions at the onset of the pandemic.

Op-Ed: San Francisco’s Downtown Plan Nothing Revelatory
Mayor London Breed’s newest proposal for revitalizing downtown San Francisco faces some sharp criticism for offering no new solutions after the city failed to deliver on goals and recommendations made in 2020.

San Francisco Halts Tiny Home Project
Citing ‘absurd’ costs and community concerns, city supervisors are reevaluating a plan to build a ‘tiny home village’ for unhoused residents in the Mission District.

San Francisco Officials Detail Self-Driving Car ‘Mayhem’ in Letter to State
In the worst version of the autonomous future, San Francisco firefighters have to fight off a self-driving car that crashed into their equipment during a fire, prompting calls for stricter regulations.

San Francisco Housing Plan Gets State Approval
The city cleared a major hurdle as its housing plan, which paves the way for 82,000 new homes by 2030, is certified by the state.

City Requiring Permits for Twitter’s Dystopian Office Bedrooms
After a Forbes article revealed dozens of makeshift sleeping areas in Twitter’s downtown San Francisco offices, the city is asking the company to file for permits if they want to keep them.

Where Pandemic Bike Improvements Won Out
While some cities are reverting back to pre-pandemic street configurations, others are taking advantage of the momentum for bike and pedestrian infrastructure to make pandemic-era projects permanent.

San Francisco Tunnel Project Balloons in Cost
The plan to extend a Caltrain line to the Salesforce Transit Center is now expected to cost $6.7 billion as the agency faces a budget shortfall for its electrification project.

San Francisco Plans for 82,000 New Housing Units
California housing regulators have granted preliminary approval for the city of San Francisco’s housing element as mandated by the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation process.

Predictions for San Francisco’s Public Spaces
In 2023, will the city’s public spaces be reclaimed by cars, or will pandemic-era interventions lead to permanent change?

S.F. Accelerates Parking Removal at Bus Stops From 7 Years to 18 Months
Reviewing changes in bulk will make it easier for the Municipal Transportation Agency to remove parking around bus stops in San Francisco.

Long Delayed, $1.95 Billion Central Subway Opens in San Francisco
San Francisco’s first north-south subway opened last weekend, extending service on Muni’s T light rail line.

Office Vacancies Could Cost San Francisco $200 Million by 2028
The fiscal toll of the pandemic is only beginning to reveal itself. The challenges presented to growing office vacancy rates are not unique to San Francisco.
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