Democratic San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin announced Tuesday that the city’s Macy’s location would be shutting down.
Peskin released a statement on Twitter noting that Macy’s is moving to downsize by 150 locations, which will include the city’s downtown store in Union Square. (RELATED: Blue City Officially Apologizes To Black Residents)
“Macy’s was one of the last holdouts against the national trend of retail closures and consolidations, but as with every seeming blow to our downtown recovery, I see a potential opportunity. This site is an opportunity development site, with potential for mixed-use, food & beverage and residential on the upper floors, even before the pandemic. Macy’s has confirmed that the building will remain open until the end of the year, and it will be put up for sale,” Peskin stated.
Every devastating phone call has an opportunity somewhere and every challenge has a flip side – with the right political will and public-private collaboration.
Let’s get to work. pic.twitter.com/mOZfb676qF
— Aaron Peskin (@AaronPeskin) February 27, 2024
The Democrat board president said that city officials will collaborate with the Union Square Alliance to “invest in the neighborhood” by marketing the development incentives and opportunities. He also noted that the store will likely stay open until the building is sold, which could take years, ABC 7 reported.
Of the 150 stores slated for closure, 50 are expected to shut down by the end of 2024 with the others closing over the next three years, Macy’s stated in a press release. The company is now planning to prioritize investments within “approximately 350 go-forward locations,” while continuing the “expansion of small-format stores.”
At least 400 employees are expected to be impacted by the decision to close the Union Square store, according to Local 5 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, ABC 7 reported.
Six employees at the store told The San Francisco Standard that they blamed widespread retail theft for the closure.
“I’m not in charge of making the estimates of how much we lose in a day, but last year we were told the losses were in the millions,” one said, according to the outlet, claiming that drug users and teens do most of the shoplifting.