SF was a one trick town, software, that software wealth in the later stages was built on low interest rates and cheap money. That is no longer the case, and SF will end up going the way of Detroit.
17.1 Salesforce Towers worth of empty office space spread across SF
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Re: 17.1 Salesforce Towers worth of empty office space spread across SF
#52I would love to have my own habitable storage unit in downtown SF. 200sqf, air vents, no windows, shared bathroom with shower. It would be great as a base while traveling. I could visit between changing flights, and swap some of my gear. Occasionally I would sleep there.
I’d rather have 5 of these around the world than a single property that has way too much space for me. I never open my curtains anyway.
But it just isn’t a thing. Surely the margins would be decent? The demand must be too low.
Re: 17.1 Salesforce Towers worth of empty office space spread across SF
#53US cities are going to be in a world of hurt here pretty soon. Cities exist as job markets. And the primary force that keeps urban areas safe and friendly is the shoeleather of middle class workers coming in and out of work each day. The vacuum left has been filled with homelessness and poverty. These people were always here, but there was enough critical mass that they were at the margins. Now they are at all of the…
"Cities exist as job markets."
That's changing. Cities are beginning to exist as playgrounds for the privileged.
Re: 17.1 Salesforce Towers worth of empty office space spread across SF
#54If the owners would substantially cut the rent the empty office space would rapidly fill up.
Owners are not able to cut rent as most commercial financing have covenants which require a minimum lease rate/sq foot. If they cut rent, they could be in technical default and lose the building. Commercial financing has onerous terms which should be stricken by the government/courts.
Seems like whatever entity did the financing would be motivated to relax those terms. Empty buildings can't be good for them either, can they?
Re: 17.1 Salesforce Towers worth of empty office space spread across SF
#55US cities are going to be in a world of hurt here pretty soon. Cities exist as job markets. And the primary force that keeps urban areas safe and friendly is the shoeleather of middle class workers coming in and out of work each day. The vacuum left has been filled with homelessness and poverty. These people were always here, but there was enough critical mass that they were at the margins. Now they are at all of the…
"Cities" is the wrong word here, it's really "downtown" or "city center" areas. The center of activities will move outwards toward the suburbs, but stay in the wider metro area. This has been slowly happening for a while in many (most ?) metro areas, but the pandemic will certainly expedite things.
The suburban reaction to the pandemic is a real shame. For a while there, it had looked like we might finally reverse the awful tide of sprawl.
Re: 17.1 Salesforce Towers worth of empty office space spread across SF
#56US cities are going to be in a world of hurt here pretty soon. Cities exist as job markets. And the primary force that keeps urban areas safe and friendly is the shoeleather of middle class workers coming in and out of work each day. The vacuum left has been filled with homelessness and poverty. These people were always here, but there was enough critical mass that they were at the margins. Now they are at all of the…
"Cities exist as job markets." That's changing. Cities are beginning to exist as playgrounds for the privileged.
Maybe NYC or a few other coastal "cool" cities, but for the vast majority of urban areas I am familiar with this doesn't seem to be the case.
Re: 17.1 Salesforce Towers worth of empty office space spread across SF
#57US cities are going to be in a world of hurt here pretty soon. Cities exist as job markets. And the primary force that keeps urban areas safe and friendly is the shoeleather of middle class workers coming in and out of work each day. The vacuum left has been filled with homelessness and poverty. These people were always here, but there was enough critical mass that they were at the margins. Now they are at all of the…
"Cities" is the wrong word here, it's really "downtown" or "city center" areas. The center of activities will move outwards toward the suburbs, but stay in the wider metro area. This has been slowly happening for a while in many (most ?) metro areas, but the pandemic will certainly expedite things.
Until the ponzi scheme that is suburbia bankrupts the city
Re: 17.1 Salesforce Towers worth of empty office space spread across SF
#58Given that Salesforce towers can be a measure of unutilized space, could the amount of total internal non-productive bullshit in a company be measured in Salesforces?
That seems like reasonable idea. A kind of nano/micro/mini SFBU for team/group/department levels and SFBUs at whole company level.
Re: 17.1 Salesforce Towers worth of empty office space spread across SF
#59US cities are going to be in a world of hurt here pretty soon. Cities exist as job markets. And the primary force that keeps urban areas safe and friendly is the shoeleather of middle class workers coming in and out of work each day. The vacuum left has been filled with homelessness and poverty. These people were always here, but there was enough critical mass that they were at the margins. Now they are at all of the…
"Cities" is the wrong word here, it's really "downtown" or "city center" areas. The center of activities will move outwards toward the suburbs, but stay in the wider metro area. This has been slowly happening for a while in many (most ?) metro areas, but the pandemic will certainly expedite things.
Sure. But if you are Seattle or San Francisco or any other number of examples, the actual city boundaries are quite small. So while you pay for city services that the larger region might get to enjoy (transit, housing authority, etc), your funding pool to draw from might still be shrinking.
Re: 17.1 Salesforce Towers worth of empty office space spread across SF
#60SF was a one trick town, software, that software wealth in the later stages was built on low interest rates and cheap money. That is no longer the case, and SF will end up going the way of Detroit.
Hasn't SF been going through boom and bust cycles since 1849? A gold rush begins, starry-eyed people move in with big dreams, most don't make it and have to leave, a few lock in real estate and get to rent seek the next batch of space cadets. Rinse and repeat.