This Week's Top Stories

Embarcadero

Pavilion Designs for Embarcadero Park Head to Arts Commission as Construction Approaches

Three concepts for a 40-foot performance pavilion went to civic design review on October 19, pushing the $40 million waterfront park project toward its late-2026 groundbreaking.

The design team behind San Francisco's planned Embarcadero Park brought three pavilion concepts before the Arts Commission's Civic Design Review Committee on Monday, October 19, the latest public milestone for a project set to transform the former Embarcadero Plaza and Sue Bierman Park into a unified five-acre waterfront destination. Architecture firm HOK presented the options, which range from a more conventional shade canopy to two variations of an undulating sculptural form, each running roughly 85 feet long and standing about 40 feet tall.

Financial District

AI Tenants Drive Downtown SF Office Vacancy Below 21 Percent for First Time Since Pandemic Peak

A Q4 market snapshot shows the city absorbed 5.5 million square feet of office space over the past year, with the Financial District reclaiming ground lost during the worst of the post-pandemic slump.

San Francisco's office market enters the fourth quarter of 2026 with its strongest absorption figures in years, according to a market report published this month by commercial real estate firm NAI NorCal. Tenants absorbed 5.5 million square feet citywide over the past 12 months, pushing overall vacancy down to 20.2 percent — a decline of roughly 2.7 percentage points year over year and a significant retreat from the market's post-pandemic high above 35 percent. Annual leasing volume exceeded 12 million square feet, the strongest total since 2019.

Union Square

Nordstrom Rack's Union Square Return Is Part of a $60 Million Overhaul — With 136 Apartments Planned Above

New details on the 2 Stockton Street project reveal a full mixed-use transformation: a rebuilt retail facade and more than a hundred new homes stacked on the upper floors.

When Nordstrom Rack announced last week that it would return to Union Square at 2 Stockton Street, the headline focused on the retailer. But the building itself is undergoing a sweeping transformation. The site is part of a $60 million renovation that includes new facades along both Market Street and Stockton Street, and the building's owner has separately filed plans to convert the upper floors into 136 apartments — turning what was once a single-use retail block into a mixed-use anchor for the recovering district.

Upcoming Events

Saturday, October 24

Whack Donuts 2nd Anniversary Outdoor Jam

📍 Embarcadero Plaza (formerly Justin Herman Plaza), Embarcadero · 1:30 PM–6:00 PM · Verify · Funcheap SF

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

Thursday, 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 St. · 10:00 AM–12:00 PM · Verify · Salesforce Transit Center / The East Cut CBD

Friday, October 30

Nightmare on Front Street Halloween Block Party

📍 240 Front Street, Financial District · 2:00 PM–10:00 PM · Verify · Funcheap SF

More from the Community

La Piazza Selected for Union Square's Troubled Food Kiosk, with April 2027 Opening Planned

The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department announced on October 9 that La Piazza — an Italian espresso and pizza bar from the Gallo family, who also operate Colibri and Il Parco…

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