This Week's Top Stories

Lake Merced

Lake Merced Trail Fully Reopens on Skyline Boulevard After Summer Construction

SF Rec & Park says the path along Skyline Blvd is open again, with new ADA upgrades and fitness stations still to come.

Walkers, runners, and cyclists circling Lake Merced got good news this week: the trail segment along Skyline Boulevard is once again open after a construction closure that had been in place through late June. San Francisco Recreation and Parks posted the update on September 4, confirming that the Skyline Blvd pathway is now accessible to the public without detours. The reopening is part of the larger Lake Merced Trail Improvement Project.

West Portal

Empire Theater Project Grows to 172 Units and 12 Stories — and May Skip Public Hearings

DM Development's revised plan for the shuttered West Portal theater has more than doubled in size, enabled by state streamlining laws and Mayor Lurie's Family Zoning changes.

The proposed redevelopment of the shuttered Empire Theater at 85 West Portal Avenue has grown dramatically since it was first reported earlier this year. Developer DM Development, acting for owner Empire West Portal LLC, has filed revised plans that would replace the vacant theater and an adjacent Goodwill and Supercuts building with a 12-story, 172-unit mixed-use complex — up from the original nine-story, 64-unit proposal announced in January.

SFSU

SFSU Opens Fall Semester With Constitution Day Conference and GatorFest Events

San Francisco State University's two-day Constitution and Citizenship Day conference runs September 16–17, while GatorFest programming continues through November.

San Francisco State University is heading into a busy stretch of campus programming this week. The university's annual 'Rights and Wrongs: A Constitution and Citizenship Day Conference' is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16, and Thursday, September 17, marking a national holiday that commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday–Thursday, September 16–17

SFSU Constitution and Citizenship Day Conference

📍 San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave (Humanities 133 and Library 121) · 9:30 AM

Thursday, September 18

West Portal Wine Walk

📍 West Portal Avenue (begins at Armstrong Carpet, 369 West Portal Ave) · 4:30 PM–7:30 PM

Friday, September 26

SF Good Neighbor Week Citywide Kickoff

📍 Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco · 12:00 PM

Sunday, September 27

Lake Merced Half Marathon and 4.5-Mile Run

📍 Lake Merced Main Parking Lot, Lake Merced & Sunset Blvds, San Francisco · 8:00 AM

Through Friday, November 20

GatorFest 2026 — Ongoing Campus Events

📍 San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave · Various times

More from the Neighborhood

Stonestown Galleria Now Opens an Hour Earlier on Fridays and Saturdays

Stonestown Galleria announced in late August that it is extending its hours, opening at 10 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and closing at 9 p.m. — one hour earlier than the previous…