This Week's Top Stories

Union Square

Nordstrom Rack Announces Return to Union Square, Signing Lease at 2 Stockton Street for Fall 2027 Opening

The off-price retailer will occupy 51,500 square feet at the corner of Stockton and Market, filling a storefront vacant since Forever 21 departed in 2019.

Three years after closing both of its downtown San Francisco locations, Nordstrom Rack is coming back. The Seattle-based retailer announced Wednesday, October 15, that it has signed a lease at 2 Stockton Street — a 51,500-square-foot corner storefront at Market and Stockton in the Union Square neighborhood — with the store scheduled to open in fall 2027. The building, owned and managed by Invesco Real Estate, has been largely empty since Forever 21 vacated in 2019 and a brief candy-store tenant subsequently closed.

Embarcadero

'I Am' Comes Down: Embarcadero's 45-Foot Nude Sculpture Dismantled After 18 Months, Clearing Path for New Park

Crews disassembled Marco Cochrane's towering steel-mesh figure this week; the platform where it stood will become part of the $40 million Embarcadero Park renovation.

Dismantling of the towering sculpture known as "I Am" began Monday, October 13, and by Tuesday the head of the 13,000-pound steel-mesh figure had been lowered to the pavement at Embarcadero Plaza. The piece, originally titled "R-Evolution" and recently renamed by its creator Marco Cochrane, had stood across from the Ferry Building since April 2025 — twelve months longer than its originally planned six-month run, after two successive extensions.

Embarcadero

Sue Bierman Playground Reopens Today as Embarcadero Park Design Heads to Arts Commission on Monday

The children's playground closed for tree work since September 28 has been cleared to reopen; the full park redesign goes before the SF Arts Commission's Civic Design Review Committee on October 19.

San Francisco Recreation and Park Department confirmed in an October 2026 project update that Sue Bierman Playground at Embarcadero Park has now reopened, following a two-and-a-half-week closure that began September 28 to accommodate tree removals around the play area. The department's notice had indicated a target reopening of Friday, October 16. The tree work is part of the broader Embarcadero Park Renovation Project, which will eventually merge Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park into a unified five-acre waterfront park.

Upcoming Events

Friday, October 16 – Sunday, October 25

Fall 2026 SF Restaurant Week

📍 Participating restaurants citywide, including Financial District and Union Square · Various times · Verify · SF Restaurant Week / GGRA

Sunday, October 18

Foodwise Sunday Supper: A Farm to City Feast

📍 Ferry Building, 1 Ferry Building, Embarcadero · 4:30 PM – 9:30 PM · Verify · Downtown SF Partnership

Sunday, October 25

World of Dumplings Festival at the Ferry Building

📍 Ferry Building, 1 Ferry Building, Embarcadero · 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM · Verify · Funcheap SF

Wednesday, October 29

Trick-or-Treat at the Ferry Building

📍 Ferry Building Marketplace, 1 Ferry Building, Embarcadero · 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM · Verify · Ferry Building Marketplace

Friday, October 30

Halloween Boonanza at Salesforce Park

📍 Salesforce Park, Central Lawn & Main Plaza, 425 Mission Street (rooftop), Rincon Hill · 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM · Verify · Transbay Joint Powers Authority / The East Cut CBD

More from the Community

Los Angeles Apparel Confirms First SF Store at 111 Powell Street, Union Square

Los Angeles Apparel — the basics clothing brand founded by American Apparel's Dov Charney — confirmed on October 2 that it will open its first San Francisco location at 111 Powell Street…

SF Office Market Posts Strongest Annual Absorption Since 2019, South Financial District Leading Recovery

San Francisco's office market absorbed 5.5 million square feet over the past twelve months — the strongest annual total since 2019 — according to a NAI NorCal market report published October 15…

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