Supervisor and mayoral candidate Aaron Peskin was on TV Thursday night discussing the city's efforts to cajole the Macy's organization to change its mind about closing the San Francisco store.
"We are actually in active discussions with people high-up in the Macy’s organization at the national level and seeing if they will spare San Francisco," Peskin told NBC Bay Area Thursday. "We have sent our highest level people, so fingers crossed."
Lest Peskin be seen taking credit for such an effort, Mayor London Breed — who is currently in China — put out a statement to the Chronicle today, essentially saying she is one of those "highest level people" talking to Macy's.
"The Mayor had a conversation with the CEO of Macy’s last Friday and we are continuing to talk with them about the future of the site," says the mayor's spokesperson Jeff Cretan.
Macy's is reportedly hoping to sell its 400,000-square-foot store on Union Square as the company faces dwindling profits and low foot traffic, particularly at its more urban locations. The company announced its intention in February to close 150 under-performing stores, with the San Francisco store being one of them.
50 stores are set to close in the near term, with the Union Square location likely to close in early 2026, at least as of now.
Following the closure announcement, retail experts weighed in to discuss how modern shopping patterns have largely shifted away from downtown retail districts like this — and that Macy's customers have largely moved to the suburbs.
Breed sent a letter to Macy's CEO Tony Spring earlier this month, as the Chronicle reports, saying in part, "It is of paramount importance to me that a significant retail presence is maintained at Macy’s Union Square flagship store prior to and continuing through any redevelopment or change in ownership."
Breed also pledged to work on "strategies, incentives, and concessions" for any potential new tenant in the space or buyer for the buildings the store occupies.
Peskin's comments came following a panel discussion last night at Manny's about the future of Union Square, with development experts and retail brokers.
Peskin also says that the supervisors are hoping to have money in the coming year's budget to activate the actual park in Union Square "almost everyday" starting this summer, with music and other stuff.
"Part of our mission is to make Union Square more of a neighborhood and when you have more of a 24-hour place, Union Square hasn’t been a 24-hour place," Peskin tells NBC Bay Area.
In some related news, the Chronicle reported Friday that three of the vacant retail spaces inside the former Westfield mall, now called Emporium San Francisco Centre, are now leased up — though the receiver company currently running the complex, Trident Pacific, has not said what the new store tenants will be. One of the spaces was the former Burberry, and all three spaces are on the ground level near Bloomingdale's.
Previously: Macy's to Close Its San Francisco Union Square Flagship, In Huge Blow to City Retail
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