If your city can’t keep Walmart, Whole Foods, and Nordstrom due to rampant and unchecked crime, homelessness, etc, then how would you compel normal citizens and employers to remain. If you forfeit your security, protection of private property and clean streets, then society will rapidly devolve and you will end up with such vacancies. And it doesn’t matter if this is deliberate and ideological or if it’s just incompetence or ignorance, the same outcome will arrive. SF is in decline and total denial about it. California is too. Anyone who doesn’t see this is in total denial.
Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy
241–250 of 388 posts
Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy
#242I live in SF and spend a fair amount of time thinking about its poor 5-year economic outlook. It's not great, but I am curious how it compares to other metros? If I were to move from SF, wanted to live in a metro area, and was uncomfortable living in a very red state - where should I consider? Where is thriving? I have a good amount of friends in Portland, but Portland is adjacent SF in terms of poor economic recover…
Not all industries will be equally impacted by WFH. SF is being gutted because the only equipment a programmer needs is a computer. If you're looking for a healthy metro area that will weather the WFH realignment, look for one whose primary industries require equipment that you can't pick up at Best Buy. Things like healthcare, biotech, and research universities (just to name a few) will still require butts in seats.…
> SF is being gutted because the only equipment a programmer needs is a computer
I think that's only half of it. The other half is a lot of people were only in SF for the money. When given the opportunity to leave and make the same money, they did.
Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy
#243Earlier quoted context omitted.
Living in big cities within "red" states is not like living in the state itself outside the city, other than you are all affected by the same state laws (unless the latter is the main concern). Atlanta GA, Austin TX, etc. are all "blue in a sea of red" as they say. Lived in the former myself for many years. Yes you're affected by state laws, but most of the folks in large cities are going to be less like the stereoty…
Unfortunately, this is becoming less and less true as GOP-run states strip autonomy from cities and steadily increase state control over them. Take Texas as an example,[0] where they've banned cities from -enacting paid sick leave -enacting mandatory heat and water breaks for manual labor jobs -modifying their police budgets -restricting fracking within city limits -restricting greenhouse gas-intense products Among o…
There's an argument that you want consistency across the state. Having snowflake jurisdictions is a headache for businesses.
Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy
#244Earlier quoted context omitted.
Right call for whom ? What's it got to do with backbone if it is just not in anyone (except landlords') interest to mandate RTO ?
I'd argue that people having to leave their house every day is better for society as a whole, even if it feels a bit inconvenient. Having everyone lock themselves inside and exclusively interact via video chat is not a good thing, IMO.
> Having everyone lock themselves inside and exclusively interact via video chat is not a good thing, IMO.
Sounds like a Black Mirror episode.
Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy
#245Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unfortunately, this is becoming less and less true as GOP-run states strip autonomy from cities and steadily increase state control over them. Take Texas as an example,[0] where they've banned cities from -enacting paid sick leave -enacting mandatory heat and water breaks for manual labor jobs -modifying their police budgets -restricting fracking within city limits -restricting greenhouse gas-intense products Among o…
There's an argument that you want consistency across the state. Having snowflake jurisdictions is a headache for businesses.
Cities can compete against each other to attract businesses - no? If businesses can deal with a patchwork of sales taxes and building codes, they can handle other bylaws just fine. These laws have the hallmark signs of a partisan power-grab as they are limited to a number of on red-meat issues.
Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, I am not planning on owning commercial, but I am interested in avoiding having taxes raised on me to fill a budget deficit. Taxes on commercial real estate generate a significant amount of revenue, commercial rental agreements are usually ~5-7 years, and so, at least in SF, there is a looming wave of devaluations which has yet to be realized. The city already has an estimated 800M budget shortfall without assumin…
I think you're being too speculative here. If you're really trying to minimize paying taxes, then you should be moving to a state with no income tax, don't buy property there (because states with no income tax tend to make up for it with high property taxes), and don't live in a city because cities will have local taxes. But you move to NYC, you do so because NYC is awesome and living here is great. I wouldn't pay le…
> ... you should be moving to a state with no income tax, don't buy property there (because states with no income tax tend to make up for it with high property taxes)
Remember not to rent too, otherwise landlords would passthrough the high property to you.
Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy
#247Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personal politics, IMO, is not a good reason to avoid living in certain areas. I'm a liberal-leaning moderate but many of my favorite people (friends and family) are conservative, and many of my hobbies tend to be populated mainly by the conservative demographic. You'll always find people here and there who won't give you the time of day if you're not on Team Blue or Team Red, but my take on it is, if I can't make fr…
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Why can’t a trans person “make friends with someone who hold beliefs different than their own”?
Nobody is saying “make friends with someone who hates you”. That’s true of anyone.
But can a trans person make friends with someone who disagrees on that minors should be able to start transition therapy without informing their parents?
Sure, why not?
If you can’t be friends with people who don’t hold 100% of the same political views you do, you’re going to have a very lonely life.
Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy
#248Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personal politics, IMO, is not a good reason to avoid living in certain areas. I'm a liberal-leaning moderate but many of my favorite people (friends and family) are conservative, and many of my hobbies tend to be populated mainly by the conservative demographic. You'll always find people here and there who won't give you the time of day if you're not on Team Blue or Team Red, but my take on it is, if I can't make fr…
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Note the word “maybe” and it might be easier to read charitably.
Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
It turns out that befriending people who hold opposite and even toxic opinions is actually a great way to bring them back to more moderate and rational thinking. There is a Jordan Harbinger podcast about a black man who single-handedly dismantled multiple KKK clans literally by befriending them. The trick is to approach the other person with curiosity and reason, not with judgement and adversity. Not everyone can be…
Why are you putting the onus on victims to befriend and "convert" their oppressors? Seriously, what the fuck .
When someone disagree's with your point of view, you are thus a victim?
I think I see the problem here.
Re: Downtown SF has 18.4M square feet of empty office space. We mapped every vacancy
#250Isn't there a housing shortage? Rezone these buildings for apartments on the upper floors. Edit: Even if it costs a lot to convert (that is where tax incentives would usually help if done correctly). Having them sit empty costs more eventually.
I would love to see these offices turned into housing as much as anyone, but I also recommend reading this amazing NYT article on why it's not quite so simple as just rezoning or a simple interior remodel - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/11/upshot/office...
Great article, thanks for the gift link!