Downtown San Francisco undergoing revitalization – spectrumlocalnews.com

Downtown San Francisco undergoing revitalization  spectrumlocalnews.com

In the years following the pandemic, San Francisco saw a rise in vacant retail and office space. SAN FRANCISCO — Culture, history and most importantly, vibrancy — that’s what each item sold represents for Nicole Williams and her five friends who took their passion for their heritage and turned it into a business, a place where shoppers can buy a piece of that passion. “I go over to Africa, and I work with beautiful Black artists throughout different countries to create wearable art,” said Williams, who is a San Francisco business owner and co-founder of the Cowrie Collective. “We love quality products, and 85% of what you’re going to find here is handmade.” The Cowrie Collective has only been open a month and a half, and the founders couldn’t be more excited about their future.

Mostly because of where they are — in the heart of downtown San Francisco. Their business is part of San Francisco’s Vacant to Vibrant program. “My first job as an adult was on Market Street, and I remember not really seeing shops that represented my culture,” she said. According to real estate agency Cushman & Wakefield, vacancy rates through the first quarter of this year at Union Square are around 20%. The city is trying various ways to bring that number down. One way grants