The Facts

The Westfield mall is dead. It will officially close its doors on January 26, 2026. BART has already sealed the entrance connecting Powell Station to the mall, and all tenants have closed up shop.

The Context

This isn’t unique to San Francisco. Westfield’s owner says it has disposed of 17+ U.S. properties and is concentrating, instead, on a smaller set of “U.S. flagship” malls.

More broadly, brick-and-mortar retail is under real pressure nationwide. Coresight Research says that "inflation and a growing preference among consumers to shop online to find the cheapest deals took a toll on brick-and-mortar retailers", projecting about 15,000 U.S. store closures in 2025.

But San Francisco’s case is more acute. For years, the area around Market Street and Powell Station has struggled with open drug use, persistent crime, and rampant shoplifting. Retailers repeatedly cited safety concerns, theft, and declining foot traffic as reasons for closing or pulling back operations. These local conditions compounded national retail headwinds and made it far harder for a mall like Westfield to survive.

What’s notable is that Westfield is not struggling everywhere. Its parent company, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, reported stronger performance outside the U.S. in 2024: like-for-like shopping center net rental income grew +6.0% in continental Europe and +8.7% in the UK vs. +4.0% at U.S. flagships, with a higher 7.2% U.S. vacancy rate vs. 3.2% in continental Europe, per its FY-2024 earnings.

The GrowSF Take

Westfield’s closure will leave a massive hole along Market Street, accelerating the area’s decline if nothing changes. It’s tempting to immediately rally around a single grand vision or pet project for the site. That would be a mistake. San Francisco should not pre-pick a single “right” answer. The best outcome will come from maximum flexibility: letting the market propose what can actually pencil out and activate the space, whether that’s housing, entertainment, education, offices, hotels, or something entirely new.

None of this works without continued progress on crime, drug use, and street safety so people actually feel comfortable coming back.

City Hall’s role is not to dictate the use. It’s to make success possible by providing clear rules, fast permits, and predictable timelines.