The 1.5 million square- foot (139,355-m²) Westfield San Francisco Center, one of the nation’s largest urban shopping malls, comprises more than 170 specialty stores; two anchor department stores, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom; four floors of Class A office space; a gourmet marketplace; and a nine-screen cinema. The $460 million expansion project restores the 1890s-era emporium building to its original grandeur and re-creates what a century ago was San Francisco’s premier retail street.

More than 95 percent leased and occupied, Westfield San Francisco Center has generated $17.5 million in property and sales taxes for the city, created approximately 3,000 new jobs, and drawn more than 25 million visitors per year to the previously underused Market Street area. Among the 172 retailers, almost 47 percent are new to San Francisco, and preexisting San Francisco Shopping Center tenants are reporting a 10 to 15 percent increase in sales since the reopening. After an eight-year development process, Westfield San Francisco Center has become an economic engine for downtown San Francisco, creating connections with nearby Union Square, the city’s established shopping district, and Yerba Buena, a cultural and entertainment area.

Owners/Developers
Forest City Enterprises
Cleveland, Ohio

Westfield Group
Sydney, NSW, Australia

Executive Architect
ka, Inc.
Cleveland, OH

Design Architect
RTKL Associates, Inc.
Baltimore, MD

Associate Architects
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
New York, NY

Westfield Design
Sydney, NSW, Australia

Website
www.westfield.com/sanfrancisco

Principal Author(s)
Theodore Thoerig, Adrienne Schmitz, Annie Finkenbinder-Best

ULI Awards for Excellence 2011 Winner