Author: Alfredo Casuso

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Thursday, February 9, 2023 

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org  

***PRESS RELEASE*** 

MAYOR LONDON BREED DELIVERS STATE OF THE CITY 

Mayor Breed announced the Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco’s Future and outlined her 2023 priorities including continued focus on public safety, creating more housing, attracting new industries, and restoring the City’s vibrancy 

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today delivered the State of the City Address to set forth her top priorities for 2023, consisting of broad set of strategies to support the future of Downtown, advancing the City’s creation of more housing, safer neighborhoods, and renewed efforts to respond to the City’s fentanyl crisis. The Mayor also provided an update on the progress made to current challenges San Francisco is facing. 

In her remarks, the Mayor focused on the opportunities and progress that lie ahead, despite the unprecedented challenges the City has faced since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020. She called for collaboration among City leaders to support and implement new strategies that will address ongoing challenges, including housing and the City’s economic recovery, and deliver results for San Franciscans.  

“The last few years have been tough, we won’t solve all of San Francisco’s problems in a year, and we can’t fear trying new things. Because if we stand still, we fall behind. When we push forward, even if we stumble, we stumble forward,” said Mayor Breed. “I know we can overcome these challenges, in part because through four consecutive elections last year, our voters re-instilled every level of our government with a mandate to get the basics right, to put children before politics, to put results before posturing.” 

The Mayor reinforced her public safety priorities, which are vital components to the City’s economic recovery. She commended the work of the San Francisco Police Department, despite critically low officer staffing levels and retention challenges, and expressed a continued need for increasing incentives to advance recruitment efforts and retain existing officers. Mayor Breed highlighted ongoing support for police alternatives, to include the expansion of Community and Welcome Ambassadors, in addition to the City’s Street Crisis Response Teams. 

Mayor Breed also shared plans to introduce a $25 million budget supplemental later this month to help fund police overtime caused by the severe police staffing shortage. The supplemental will ensure that police officers are able to continue to respond to the basic needs and priority concerns while facing overtime challenges. 

“Our residents are demanding we build back the police force, and we need to deliver. The push for full staffing has to be consistent and it has to be sustained… Because public safety isn’t only about taking care of our residents – it’s also taking care of our economy.” 

Mayor Breed announced the Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco’s Future, a comprehensive plan that details ongoing and new strategiesthat set a new vision to reimagine Downtown’s economic recovery and role. The Mayor highlighted a once-in-a-generation opportunity to recruit new business sectors and companies to create a more diverse and resilient local economy. 

“We have our challenges, but this isn’t an end to Downtown. The truth is it won’t be any one thing that ‘saves Downtown.’ It will have to be many things. Our city’s unemployment rate remains at 2%. Our airport was just named the best in the country. This City is ready to foster a spirit of success.” 

The Mayor committed to reforming the City’s tax structure to make San Francisco more competitive and shared her plans to set forth new legislation, including protecting existing companies by pausing tax increases on San Francisco retail businesses, hotels, manufacturing sector, and arts and entertainment and attracting new businesses by offering tax breaks for three years for any company that comes to San Francisco.  

During the State of the City Address, Mayor Breed spoke of the San Francisco’s need for more housing, a critical component to growing San Francisco’s workforce base and the economic recovery.  Earlier this week, Mayor Breed rolled out her Housing for All Plan, which will advance a strategy to rework the City’s housing approvals and processes and allow for 82,000 new homes over the next 8 years as part of the State’s Housing Element.   

“To build the 82,000 homes the plan calls for, we need to approve and build homes three times faster than we did over the last decade. And that’s in a market where, right now, builders are struggling to make any project financially feasible.”  

She committed to bringing new legislation and policy forward to remove unnecessary barriers and open up the City’s stalled pipeline of more than 52,000 units of approved housing. 

The Mayor outlined other priorities for 2023, to include building on the momentum San Francisco’s parks and open spaces, supporting children and families, tackling climate change, providing world-class transportation, and delivering basic City services for San Franciscans more equitably, quickly, and efficiently. 

The State of the City Address was held at Pier 70 in the atrium of San Francisco-based company Astranis, a satellite technology company working to connect people who lack reliable, affordable internet access. The company plans to bring hundreds of manufacturing jobs to San Francisco as they scale up their satellite production capabilities.  

For the complete text of Mayor Breed’s State of the City Address, please visit this page. Video of the event may be found on the Mayor’s YouTube page.  

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Thursday, February 9, 2023  

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org   

***PRESS RELEASE*** 

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES ROADMAP FOR DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO’S FUTURE 

The new plan, unveiled during the Mayor’s State of the City Address, lays out strategies and initiatives in response to current economic challenges and sets a new vision for the role of Downtown in San Francisco’s economy 

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced a comprehensive plan to reinvigorate Downtown and reposition San Francisco as the Bay Area’s economic hub and a global anchor for commerce during the State of the City Address. The Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco’s Future includes nine strategies to respond to emerging economic trends and capitalize on the City’s strengths to keep Downtown vibrant, focusing on key priorities such as offering a clean and safe environment, fostering a resilient workforce, and attracting new industries. 

San Francisco’s thriving office economy, prime geographic location, rich history as well as world-renowned culinary, cultural, and entertainment offerings, attracted over one million daily visits to Downtown prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a $250 billion annual gross domestic product (GDP) (2022), the City accounts for more than one quarter of the Nine-county Bay Area economy, 79% of which is produced by office-based industries concentrated in the Financial District, the Embarcadero waterfront, East Cut, SoMa, Yerba Buena, Mid-Market, Union Square, and into Mission Bay.  

As the gateway to the Asia-Pacific, Downtown San Francisco serves as a global anchor for national and international companies. Prior to the pandemic, the Downtown area provided nearly 70% of the jobs in San Francisco and generated the majority of the City’s tax base and revenue. The pandemic caused a shift to remote or hybrid work patterns in business centers across the country, including San Francisco, that has impacted Downtown’s business ecosystem that was built up to support office-based businesses and workers, including our small businesses.      

In order to position San Francisco for the future, the City is putting forward policies that respond to new economic trends and challenges, while continuing to invest in the strengths and assets that are the core pillars of San Francisco’s competitiveness. This plan will require a mix of legislative changes, investments, and administrative programs to support new and ongoing initiatives.   

“San Francisco’s Downtown is the economic driver for our City and our region,” said Mayor London Breed. “While things have shifted profoundly during this pandemic, we also know that San Francisco’s innovative and creative spirit remains as strong as ever. This Roadmap builds on our values and commits San Francisco to a clear economic vision to carry us forward. This will take work and partnership with our business leaders and workforce, but I know that working together we can build a stronger, more resilient future for Downtown and our City.”  

 The Roadmap is comprised of nine strategies and nearly 50 initiatives, to include: 

1. Ensure Downtown is clean, safe, and inviting   

• Improve street conditions and grow Healthy Streets coordinated response programs.  

2. Attract and retain a diverse range of industries and employers  

• Build a resilient economy and support businesses in key sectors with tax relief, incentives and explore business tax reform.    

3. Facilitate new uses and flexibility in buildings  

• Assess the potential for conversion of office to residential and other uses and amend the Planning Code to maximize the flexibility of Downtown zoning.  

4. Make it easier to start and grow a business  

• Provide direct recovery assistance for new businesses and reduce the time, complexity and cost to open new businesses and other ventures.  

5. Grow and prepare our workforce 

• Implement the Mayor’s Housing for All strategy to deliver housing for our workforce and provide training programs that prepare San Franciscans for employers’ shifting needs.  

6. Transform Downtown into a leading arts, culture, and nightlife destination 

• Explore the creation of an Arts, Culture and Entertainment (ACE) Zone and continue to support public space events and activations that showcase local talent and culture to draw people to Downtown.  

7. Enhance public spaces to showcase Downtown  

• Complete transition of Shared Spaces to a permanent program and continue adding new design elements in public spaces.   

8. Invest in transportation connections 

• Make Downtown travel easier and faster and establish strategies for long term financial stability for MUNI. 

9. Tell our story  

• Develop a comprehensive branding campaign to reclaim San Francisco’s narrative into the future. 

“San Francisco is the future. We’re a forward-thinking City that continues to evolve by harnessing the strengths of our diversity, culture, and beauty. We remain a world class city by inventing new ways for San Franciscans to pursue opportunities that reflect our values,” said Kate Sofis, Executive Director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development. “The Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco lays the ground work to reimagine our Downtown with nine key strategies and nearly 50 initiatives. It leverages impactful economic tools and policies that will advance Downtown San Francisco’s role as the global anchor for commerce, arts, and culture.” 

“Downtown’s future is San Francisco’s future. As we recover from the pandemic and revitalize our City, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to chart that path. I share Mayor Breed’s vision of a safer, cleaner, and greener downtown––a destination where residents, visitors, and workers will want to spend time. Let’s come together to get the job done,” said Rodney Fong, CEO and president of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.  

“We are energized by Mayor Breed’s dedication to the recovery of downtown San Francisco. From day one, the Mayor has been a key partner fully recognizing the essential role downtown plays in our City’s vitality”, said Marisa Rodriguez, CEO of Union Square Alliance. “We at the Union Square Alliance are steadfast in our commitment to work alongside the Mayor and the City to ensure we emerge from the pandemic stronger. We look forward to continuing our partnership and building momentum towards a brighter future for our City.” 

“BOMA San Francisco applauds Mayor Breed for her bold vision to spur the economic recovery of downtown San Francisco. We are grateful for Mayor Breed’s partnership with the business community to bring new businesses, office workers, and visitors downtown. The mayor’s plan will provide needed incentives that will encourage future economic growth for our city,” said John Bryant, CEO of Building Owners and Managers of San Francisco (BOMA) San Francisco. 

Key economic data 

• San Francisco’s office vacancy rate was 25% by the end of 2022. 
• As of January 18, 2023, office attendance* is up 43% from 18% in January 2022. 
• In August 2022, SF Travel forecast 21.5 million visitors in 2022, up 26% from 2021, but down 18% from the record high of 26.2 million in 2019.   
• BART ridership to the four Downtown stations in 2022 (24 million) climbed 85% from 2021 (13 million) but is down 69% compared to 2019 (78 million). 
• The number of passengers at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) went up by 73.1% in 2022 compared to 2021 but it’s still 26.6% below 2019 numbers.

*Average number of office workers entering their work building. Percentage is based off February 2020 pre-pandemic attendance. 

Learn more about the Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco’s Future on this website. The Mayor’s State of the City Address is available here. 

Media contact: David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Silverback assumes new role as managing partner of Zappos Bay to Breakers

112^th Annual Event Takes Place Sunday, May 21, 2023

7 February 2023 – San Francisco, CA: San Francisco’s oldest and most iconic event, Zappos Bay to Breakers (www.baytobreakers.com) is getting even more homegrown. The Bay Area based production agency, Silverback (www.gosilverback.com) has teamed up with Motiv Running (www.motivrunning.com) and will now serve as the managing partner of Zappos Bay to Breakers, after producing the event since 2017.

“Bay to Breakers holds a special place in my heart and I truly cherish this new role and opportunity,” said Kyle Meyers, CEO of Silverback. “There’s literally nothing like it anywhere else in the world.  And as a local business owner, resident of Ocean Beach, husband to a native San Franciscan and raising our daughter in the City, I understand the significance of this event and the importance of maintaining strong community relationships. From the SF Marathon to SailGP, or any other event we produce or support, our number one goal is always to deliver a safe, organized, and memorable experience for everyone involved.”

In October 2022, Motiv Sports acquired Bay to Breakers from Capstone Event Group and entered into a partnership with Silverback to grow and operate the San Francisco event.  Bay to Breakers has been a staple in the City since 1912 and is a true reflection of the creativity, resilience and community that make San Francisco so special. Zappos Bay to Breakers, like San Francisco, is open to everyone. Participants of all ages and abilities, and oftentimes in costume, line up on Howard Street a few blocks from The Embarcadero on the third Sunday in May (May 21, 2023). The course travels west through the City for 12 kilometers and finishes at the Great Highway, where the breakers crash into Ocean Beach. It truly is a time-honored tradition and the quintessential San Francisco experience.

“We’re thrilled to be teaming up with a premier organization like Silverback as we broaden our commitment to the sport of running in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Phyllis Blanchard, Head of Partnerships for California-based Motiv Sports. “Locally, Motiv Sports assumed management of the Golden Gate Half Marathon in 2018 and we’re looking forward to partnering with another iconic San Francisco race that brings runners, spectators and the community together in a positive and memorable way. We invite all runners to experience the tradition and excitement of Zappos Bay to Breakers on Sunday, May 21, 2023.”

Silverback is a San Francisco based production agency with expertise in large scale event production, permitting, logistics, course and venue management, touring productions, custom fabrication, brand activations and equipment rentals.  Visit www.gosilverback.com for more information.    

Based in California, Motiv Sports produces iconic community events in destinations across the United States. Motiv Sports operates the Golden State Run Series, which features a total of eight distinctive running events in California including Bay to Breakers and the Golden Gate Half Marathon in San Francisco. For more information about the Golden State Run Series events, visit www.goldenstaterunseries.com 

To learn more about Bay to Breakers or sign up for the fun go www.baytobreakers.com