San Francisco Centre, once among the Bay Area’s top-performing shopping complexes, is now nearly deserted. More than 93% of its 1.5 million square feet sits empty, according to real estate data, with flagship stores like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s gone. Once a hub of high-end retail, the nine-level complex is now bleeding millions of dollars a year, making it one of the starkest examples of America’s mall crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The pandemic and its aftermath

The mall’s troubles deepened during the pandemic, when lockdowns forced it to close for months. Even after reopening, foot traffic never recovered. Rising homelessness, open drug use, and repeated incidents of shoplifting inside the building discouraged both shoppers and retailers. As San Francisco saw a wave of

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