After multiple delays, the six-story shopping center that once intended to be value-oriented, and previously going by the names CityPlace and Market Street Place, will no open as soon as November under the name 6X6. The Chronicle brings word of the rebranding by developer Cypress Equities, which is intended to reference both the proximity to Sixth Street and the six floors of the complex the building occupies land that was once home to a Social Security building, a movie theater, and a 7-11 between Fifth and Sixth Streets on Market, and broke ground two years ago.
The 250,000-square-foot complex has 18-foot ceilings and a two-story parking garage underneath it which will apparently be opening to accommodate the holiday traffic crunch in November regardless of whether any retail tenants move in.
Cypress has contracted with leasing agent Cushman & Wakefield and they're now looking to fill the vast space, the biggest new retail project since the Westfield Centre, though no major tenants have been announced yet. Deals you may have heard about in previous years, including ones with JC Penny, Target, Nordstrom Rack, and Golfsmith, all fell through, with Target instead opting to go into the Metreon.
And, as the Chronicle notes, 6X6 is coming market "at a time when Mid-Market seems to be simultaneously booming and languishing." They reference the extensive delays on the major residential and mixed-use project across the street at 950 Market (now slated for 2019, maybe), the continuing vacancy of the Hibernia Bank building a block up, and they could also be referencing the languishing and quick closing of high-profile mid-Market restaurant projects, albeit ones several blocks up, like Bon Marché. Also, two hotels, including the much publicized redo of the Hotel Renoir at Seventh and Market which we now learn is called San Francisco Proper are way behind schedule.
The great promise of several years ago, when Twitter and Uber moved to the neighborhood and the blocks of Market between Fifth and Seventh have shown significant gentrification, has dwindled somewhat with all these delays, however major change is nonetheless on the horizon within a few years, particularly once 6X6 fills with tenants and begins extending the retail foot traffic from Union Square and the Westfield a full block further than its ever gone in decades.
What can you expect, in terms of stores? The only hints from the article are a) they're looking for big, "fashion-forward" retailers who haven't yet gotten a foothold here, like Top Shop and Primark, and b) potential high-end retailers moving from Union Square who want cheaper rent and more secure leases. Also, they want a mix of entertainment and food mixed in as well, with the fifth floor of the complex devoted to "multiple restaurants and cocktail lounges, as well as a mom-and-pop food hall." A grocery store, also, could be in the cards but which one, since Trader Joe's just committed to a place a block and a half down, at Fourth that's set to open in October.
The team is trying to sound optimistic about the whole thing, despite how close we are to the holiday shopping season, but they say the delays "have been 100 percent in our favor," saying that if they'd committed to their earlier concepts they'd be regretting it now.
But one thing is for sure: They need an anchor tenant with a major draw for shoppers, because otherwise no one is going to walk much further than Nordstrom Rack before going back to their cars or getting back on the train.
Previously: At Last, Market Street Place Breaks Ground