The Facts

Westfield Mall may rise again. New York investor Seven Equity Group has been selected to buy most of the shuttered San Francisco Centre, formerly Westfield, according to Laura Waxmann at the San Francisco Chronicle. The roughly 1.15 million-square-foot property at Fifth and Market excludes the separately owned former Bloomingdale’s. The price and redevelopment plans remain undisclosed, and the sale has not closed.

The Context

Credit-rating agency Fitch expects closing in the first quarter of 2027. Its report also reveals an important improvement: in August, lenders negotiated a longer lease for land beneath part of the mall owned by the San Francisco Unified School District, extending it from 2043 to 2082 and reducing annual rent. That gives a buyer more time to recover redevelopment costs. The previous buyer withdrew in July; the mall has been closed since January.

The GrowSF Take

A willing buyer is encouraging. The lenders and school district helped make redevelopment more viable by reaching new lease terms.

Our position when the mall closed still holds: give the site maximum flexibility rather than demand a return to its department-store past. We cannot endorse an undisclosed plan, but we want private investment putting this enormous empty building back to work. City Hall should allow a broad mix of uses so the eventual owner can pursue a financially workable reopening.