A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:

San Francisco

• San Francisco isn’t doomed. These 6 places show why (S.F. Chronicle): The City is not without its current challenges but, for most of its 49 square miles, its stories are more complex. Here are six vignettes that hint at the facets of this nuanced place.
• Commercial real estate in San Francisco finally gets good news in office demand data (S.F. Gate): City office demand increased in the second quarter of 2023, according to recent data.
• Downtown Detroit Collapsed and Recovered. Here Are the Takeaways for San Francisco (S.F. Standard): SPUR led a trip to Detroit in May to analyze how it managed to stage a revival, and what that revival could mean for San Francisco.
• San Francisco launches new grants to fill commercial vacancies (Business Journals): City officials have initiated a new grant-funding program worth approximately $4 million aimed at filling commercial vacancies.
• S.F. to build hundreds of units of teacher housing. Here’s where the next two projects will land (S.F. Chronicle): $32 million has been allocated for two educator projects, one in the Mission and one in Hayes Valley, housing classroom teachers, paraeducators, and early education providers.

Bay Area

• Golden Gates Fields’ closure could remake the East Bay waterfront (Business Journals): The pending closure of Golden Gate Fields may present a rare redevelopment opportunity that could reshape the East Bay waterfront.
• Berkeley is adding new housing at the fastest rate in decades (Berkeleyside): Berkeley approved plans for nearly 900 homes in 2022, the most housing Berkeley has permitted in any year since at least 2001.

California and Beyond

• My house or my beach? How California’s housing crisis could weaken its coastal protections (CalMatters): An analysis of the interplay between the state’s current housing crisis and the Coastal Commission’s commitment to coastal preservation.
• The Root Cause of Homelessness (The Atlantic): Researchers at UC San Francisco have released the largest representative survey of homeless people in more than 25 years.
• The Life and Death of American Cities (N.Y. Times): An exploration of the life of Richard Ravitch, a N.Y. real estate developer and public servant, and what his example means for the future of American cities.

A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:

San Francisco

• National Insight on Downtown San Francisco Recovery (Urban Land Institute): San Francisco can create a more commercially vibrant and socially inclusive downtown that attracts a diverse range of industries and employers, advances housing attainability, and promotes stronger leadership.
• Why SF’s ‘doom loop’ fears are premature, city economist says (SF Chronicle): The City showed strength in metrics like job growth, and signs of a “doom loop” — a vicious cycle of residents fleeing, forcing service cuts and plunging tax revenue — aren’t borne out by data.
• San Francisco Mayor Floats Teardown Of Westfield Mall, Advocates ‘Reimagining’ Of Downtown (Bisnow): San Francisco Mayor London Breed told an audience at the Bloomberg Technology Summit investors should consider demolishing the Westfield mall in downtown and put something new in its stead.
• Breed, Peskin aim to open up S.F.’s clogged housing pipeline. Here’s a look at their proposal (San Francisco Chronicle): San Francisco officials hope to reignite housing development in the City and get thousands of new homes built by lowering the percentage of affordable units developers need to include in their projects and slashing the fees they are required to pay.
• Reducing tax on sublease space would fill some San Francisco offices – but at a cost (Business Journals): Mayor London Breed has proposed adjustments to the 3.5% commercial rent tax levied on subleased spaces through 2029. But according to a report by the Controller’s Office of Economic Analysis, the revenue losses would likely outweigh the benefits.

California and Beyond

• ‘Godzilla next door’: How California developers gained new leverage to build more homes (CalMatters): A new interpretation of an old law gives homebuilders leverage over California cities and their zoning codes. They’re using it to push through thousands of new apartments around the state.
• American Cities Have a Conversion Problem, and It’s Not Just Offices (NY Times): Piles of regulations, or “kludge,” and a culture of “no” are limiting the ability to turn building blocks into something new.
• How Parking Ruined Everything (The Atlantic): America has paid a steep price for devoting too much space to storing cars.
• The Case for Ending Free Parking (NY Times): The parking problem has an economic origin and an economic solution.
• Site Check (Governor’s Office of Planning and Research): Site Check is a free public mapping tool that helps developers and public agencies find parcels where housing projects may qualify for streamlining and exemptions under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:

San Francisco

• The Luxury Shopping Oasis Emerging in San Francisco’s Struggling Downtown (Wall Street Journal): Although local foot traffic may be down, high-end stores are filled with luxury-shopping tourists.
• Here’s Mayor Breed’s new plan to fill vacant storefronts near Union Square (San Francisco Chronicle): Detailing the Mayor’s plans to revitalize Union Square’s retail shopping district.
• Breed, Melgar announce legislation to end ‘arbitrary’ density limits across San Francisco (San Francisco Business Times): A new plan for more units on residential parcels without raising height limits.
• Architect Peter Pfau aims for design that elevates – sometimes literally (San Francisco Business Times): Insight into the architectural efforts to design and redevelop Dogpatch’s Pier 70 amid rising sea levels and climate change.

Oakland

• ‘Not what it used to be’: How downtown Oakland’s recovery compares to San Francisco’s (San Francisco Chronicle): Taking stock of Oakland’s downtown and considering where its leaders hope it can go.
• Why Oakland’s Struggling Office Market Was Good News for This Black-Owned Business (San Francisco Standard): Showcasing one community-oriented organization’s push to establish even deeper roots in The Town.
• Oakland Can Use Its Work on the Proposed Howard Terminal Ballpark to Realize Inclusive Growth (SPUR): Describing why Howard Terminal is still a strong candidate for a range of future development projects.
• Thao administration is hiring first ‘permits ombudsman’ (San Francisco Business Times): The latest effort attempting to revamp Oakland’s permitting process.

Bay Area

• A Tale of Paradise, Parking Lots and My Mother’s Berkeley Backyard (The New York Times Magazine): A North Berkeley vignette of some of the causes and effects of the Bay Area’s housing crisis.
• A Bay Area homebuilder planned a project with union rules. Can it work anywhere else? (CalMatters): Examining whether California should simultaneously encourage developers to build housing while also requiring them to employ union labor.
• Walnut Creek has 1.3 million square feet of vacant office space. A new plan offers a big idea. (San Francisco Business Times): Behind the plan to encourage the conversion of Walnut Creek’s older, lower-quality office buildings into medical office buildings.

California and Beyond

• Amid the population exodus, California saw housing construction boom during pandemic (Los Angeles Times): New data show the state experienced its biggest increase in housing construction since 2008 – but is it enough?
• New Pathways to Encourage Housing Production: A Review of California’s Recent Housing Legislation (Terner Center for Housing Innovation): A deep dive examining whether new laws are influencing housing production.
• Arizona Limits New Construction in Phoenix Area, Citing Shrinking Water Supply (New York Times): What happens when there’s not enough groundwater to go around?
• Imagine a Renters’ Utopia. It Might Look Like Vienna. (New York Times): Lessons learned in a city that has largely avoided a housing crisis.

A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:

San Francisco

• Housing Wonks on a Mission to Shorten S.F.’s Permitting Process (Fixing Our City Podcast): Assemblymember Matt Haney and YIMBY advocate Bilal Mahmood explain how to spur housing construction.
• Planning Commission approves major legislative package to boost downtown San Francisco (San Francisco Business Times): Zoning changes to older office buildings and the Union Square Corridor.
• S.F. OKs housing plan on infamous Nordstrom parking lot, plus 2 more contentious sites (San Francisco Chronicle): Planning Commission approves projects at 469 Stevenson St., 1181 Washington St., and 3832 18^th St.
• Fire Sale: $300 Million San Francisco Office Tower, Mostly Empty. Open to Offers. (The Wall Street Journal): 350 California Street could sell for 80% less due to rising vacancy rates.
• SF office foot traffic still worst in the nation, but slowly improving (The Real Deal): Average office visits were 58.4 percent below pre-pandemic levels.

Bay Area

• Alameda County’s Eviction Moratorium Ended Saturday. What’s Next for Renters (and Landlords)? (KQED): Tens of thousands of Alameda County residents must pay rent for the first time in three years.

National

• California Isn’t Special (The Atlantic): No one wants “California-style” housing prices, but are the state’s policies unique?
• Why free street parking could be costing you hundreds more in rent (The Washington Post): What parking really costs you.

A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:

San Francisco

• S.F. housing production slows to crawl as state goals loom (San Francisco Chronicle): The Planning Department’s annual housing inventory showed housing production plummeted.
• 87 permits, 1,000 days of meetings and $500,000 in fees: How bureaucracy fuels S.F.’s housing crisis (San Francisco Chronicle): Can the status quo be fixed and, if so, how?
• New San Francisco ordinance would ease office building conversions (San Francisco Business Times): Lawmakers introduced legislation to ease the conversion of underutilized offices into housing and non-office uses.
• Cities are struggling. San Francisco could be in for the biggest ‘doom loop’ of all (San Francisco Chronicle): Will interconnected forces create a vicious cycle, trapping the City in an economic free fall?
• ‘Doom loop’? Perhaps. Or maybe, S.F., we’re looking at this the wrong way (San Francisco Chronicle): Thoughts on the future of the City through the eyes of a new generation.

Bay Area

• 2023 Outlook: Colliers’ Julie Taylor Speculates on Future of Northern California’s Retail Market (The Registry): Will the Bay Area retail market bounce back yet again?

California

• New bill would let California’s attorney general jump into more housing fights (San Francisco Chronicle): Attorney General Rob Bonta is asking state legislators to give him another tool to rein in scofflaw municipalities.
• California sues Huntington Beach over ban on housing projects (Los Angeles Times): The lawsuit targets the City’s ban on applications for projects under SB 9.
• California housing and the environment are often at odds. They don’t have to be (Los Angeles Times): Thoughts on the interconnectedness of the state’s housing shortage and climate crisis.

National

• No State Has an Adequate Supply of Affordable Rental Housing for the Lowest Income Renters (National Low Income Housing Coalition): A deep dive into the national shortage of affordable rental housing.
• So You Want to Turn an Office Building Into a Home? (The New York Times): The process is usually harder than you might think.
• ‘Excuse After Excuse’: Black and Latino Developers Face Barriers to Success (The New York Times): The for-profit real estate development industry is in the midst of a stark representation crisis, according to a new report.
• NIMBYs Threaten a Plan to Build More Suburban Housing (The New York Times): New York legislators rejected proposals from Gov. Kathy Hochul that would begin to address the state’s crisis in available housing.
• The Obvious Answer to Homelessness (The Atlantic): Examining the impact of housing scarcity on homelessness.
• Apartment-Building Sales Drop 74%, the Most in 14 Years (The Wall Street Journal): Interest-rate increases and banking upheaval have pushed down demand for multifamily buildings.

Urban Planning

A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:

San Francisco

• ‘It’s insane’: Only-in-S.F. tactic to kill or slow housing might be on the chopping block (San Francisco Chronicle): Assembly Bill 1114 could bar San Francisco from allowing building-permit appeals.
• Everything Is About the Housing Market (The Atlantic): Examining the impacts of high urban rents on everyday life in places like San Francisco.

California

• This California Assembly bill could pay developers to convert office buildings into housing (San Francisco Chronicle): New legislation could make office-to-residential conversions faster, easier, and less expensive.
• California housing development remains abysmal despite reforms. Here’s what’s missing (Los Angeles Times): How can California promote the large-scale residential development it needs to become affordable?
• New California pay-to-play law taken to court (CalMatters): Industry groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of SB 1439.
• CARE Courts are coming to California (Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast): Discussing Governor Newsom’s new CARE Court program.

National Real Estate

• Office Landlord Defaults Are Escalating as Lenders Brace for More Distress (The Wall Street Journal): The delinquency rate for office loans backing commercial-mortgage-backed securities remains low, but is heading higher.
• Wells Fargo economists on commercial real estate: There’s plenty to worry about (The Business Journals): Although layoffs may fuel more office vacancies, are there also reasons for hope?
• Are Tiny Homes a Solution to the Housing Crisis? (The New York Times): How are builders, manufacturers, and architects responding to a constrained market?
• With housing costs rising, tiny homes offer one solution to address homelessness (PBS News Hour): Examining the growing interest in tiny homes serving the unhoused population.