DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Unlike past tech booms that have touched San Francisco, the generative AI craze brings fewer jobs, because AI firms excel at staying lean and automating work. "I think we should curb our optimism that San Francisco commercial real estate will bounce back because of AI," said Silicon Valley investor Jeremiah Owyang. Eleven of the country's top 20 AI companies are in San Francisco and have raised $15.7 billion collectively between 2008 and 2023. That amount is just 2.3% of the estimated 150,000 daily workers that downtown San Francisco lost during the pandemic. Reporting by Anna Tong in San Francisco; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh, Anna Driver and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Carlos Barria, San, Jeremiah Owyang, Erin Price, Wright, OpenAI, Matt Schlicht, Mike Grabowski, Grabowski, Owyang, Lee Edwards, Daron Acemoglu, Anna Tong, Sayantani Ghosh, Anna Driver, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Intelligence, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Reuters, Francisco, San Francisco Mayor London Breed's, San, Microsoft, Octane, Google, Nordstrom, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, Valley, NFX, Dubai

☆ Working from home could wipe $800 billion from office values globally
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Remote work risks wiping $800 billion from the value of office buildings in major cities worldwide by 2030 as the post-pandemic trend pushes up office vacancy rates and drives down rents, according to a new report. “Urban real estate in superstar cities around the world faces substantial challenges. In a more severe scenario, the value of office space could fall by as much as 42%, the consultancy said. Waning demand for office space has driven down landlords’ asking rents, with US cities suffering the sharpest falls, McKinsey found. In a moderate scenario, demand for office space could be 13% lower by the end of the decade than it was in 2019.

Persons: ” McKinsey, “, ” Organizations: London CNN, McKinsey Global Institute, HSBC, ” McKinsey, McKinsey, Bloomberg’s Technology, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Westfield Locations: Canary Wharf, Beijing, Houston, London , New York, Paris, Munich, San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo, United States, Francisco and New York

☆ Can AI save commercial real estate in San Francisco?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In an aerial view, cars drive by the San Francisco skyline as they cross the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on October 27, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Alexander Quinn, senior director of research at commercial real estate company JLL, said his firm sees bright spots in San Francisco’s commercial real estate market as AI companies drive office leasing demand. A shopper exits the Westfield San Francisco Centre shopping mall in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. The US Census Bureau reports an estimated 35% of employees in San Francisco and San Jose continue to work from home. “I think the crash is coming, and it hasn’t happened yet,” he added, referring to commercial real estate prices.

Persons: Naveen Rao, CBRE, Justin Sullivan, it’s, ” Rao, San, Alexander Quinn, JLL, ” Quinn, Rao, OpenAI, ”, “ There’s, MosaicML, Quinn, “, Francisco’s, David Paul Morris, Henrique Dubugras, ” Michael Tannenbaum, Tannenbaum, Hans Hansson Organizations: CNN, San, Westfield, San Francisco Centre, Westfield San Francisco, Bloomberg, Getty, London, US, “ Locations: San Francisco, Southern California, Francisco, Oakland, San Francisco , California, ”, “ San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, city’s, San Francisco’s Union, Coresight, Westfield San Francisco Centre, California, Francisco’s, San Jose, decamping, United States

SAN FRANCISCO, July 8 (Reuters) - Venture capital firm Headline used to be in one of San Francisco's most eye-catching skyscrapers: the pyramidal Transamerica building that has defined the skyline for decades. Venture capital firms are increasingly joining retailers and other businesses in finding homes outside downtown San Francisco. [1/5]People enjoy the afternoon in Presidio, a former military base-turned-national park in San Francisco California, U.S., July 7, 2023. They're actually really excited," said Eurie Kim, whose venture firm Forerunner left downtown for the Presidio in early 2022. "Mayor Breed continues to implement strategic initiatives to help stabilize existing businesses and recruit new ones as part of her Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco's Future plan.

Persons: Mathias Schilling, Schilling, Rex Salisbury, Carlos Barria, They're, Eurie Kim, CBRE, Lisa Petrie, Jon Rehagen, Molly Martell, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Breed, Colin Yasukochi, Krystal Hu, Peter Henderson, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: FRANCISCO, Venture, Employees, Presidio, Westfield, San, Felicis Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Letterman, Cambrian Venture, San Francisco Bay Area, REUTERS, Presidio Trust, Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Family Museum, Catalyst, Brand, San Francisco Mayor London, Downtown San, CBRE's Tech, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, Presidio, San Francisco Bay, San Francisco's, There's, Sand, Silicon Valley, South, downtown San Francisco, San Francisco California, U.S, Marin, San Francisco ., South Park, Downtown

☆ San Francisco mayor proposes tearing down Westfield Mall
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —San Francisco’s mayor Thursday proposed remaking the city’s struggling downtown by tearing down abandoned retail space, including the city’s Westfield mall, and building new structures to reshape the struggling city. A Westfield Mall could become something completely different than what it currently is,” she said. Earlier this month, Westfield said it planned to surrender its mall, the San Francisco Centre, back to its lender. The mall operator cited the “challenging operating conditions in downtown San Francisco, which have led to declines in sales, occupancy and foot traffic.”Shoppers walk through the Westfield San Francisco Centre on April 13, 2022 in San Francisco, California. So, let’s make some adjustments to do everything we can to reimagine what parts of San Francisco can be,” Breed said.

Persons: London Breed, Breed’s, it’s, Breed, ”, Justin Sullivan, ” Breed Organizations: CNN, Westfield, ”, London, Bloomberg’s Technology, San Francisco Centre, Westfield San Francisco Centre, Resorts, Hilton San Francisco, Square, San Francisco, San Locations: Francisco’s, San Francisco, San Francisco , California, city’s, ”

☆ Mayor London Breed Discusses San Francisco’s Woes and What Lies Ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Thomas Fuller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I’ve been in this city my whole life and I know what it’s capable of. Time and time again, San Francisco reinvents itself. Well before the current influx of tech workers, San Francisco was known for art and culture. Do you think San Francisco will ever be affordable again to artists and musicians? Part of what my legislation is doing is getting rid of those requirements which make absolutely no sense.

Persons: I’ve, Francisco reinvents, Francisco Locations: Francisco, San Francisco

☆ A San Francisco builder converted a former garage into 3 tiny homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Lauren Steussy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A San Francisco housing organization transformed a garage into three small apartments. The affordable housing units cost $600,000 and are seen as a victory in the city's housing crisis. But critics told San Francisco Standard the cost of the units is high considering the square footage. An organization in San Francisco has turned a six-car garage into three 550- to 600-square-foot units, each with a bedroom, bathroom, and small kitchen. According to The San Francisco Standard, the Mission Housing units raised eyebrows among architects and building professionals.

Persons: —, Sam Moss, Rebecca Möller, Möller, Moss, I'm Organizations: San Francisco, Service, Housing, London, Mission Housing, San Francisco Standard Locations: Francisco, California's, San Francisco, Mission District

☆ A mother was raising her son in a city she loved. Then San Francisco changed and stole her boy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Sara Sidner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

And her son got caught up in a scene you can almost not avoid in the city: the drug scene. “When I got out of the BART station, the first thing that I was asked is if I wanted to buy drugs,” Tilghman said. “All the tents started going up in the city,” Tilghman said. “What makes me sad is that I see my son’s face in everybody’s faces … out on the streets,” Tilghman said. The Tenderloin Linkage Center, which was later renamed to just the Tenderloin Center, closed last December.

☆ A man who may have known Cash App creator Bob Lee has been arrested in connection to the fatal stabbing, per reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The San Francisco Police Department arrested a man in its investigation into Bob Lee's death, per ABC7 News and Mission Local. The man appears to have known the Cash App creator, both publications reported. Lee was fatally stabbed on April 4 in downtown San Francisco. Matt Dorsey, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors confirmed the report on Twitter. Lee's former wife, Krista Lee, told KTVU Fox 2 that she believes the man who was arrested was an acquaintance of Lee's.

☆ SF police chief says there's 'evidence that we found that I can't talk about' in Bob Lee death investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The SFPD chief said Thursday there are "good developments" in the investigation, per ABC's KGO-TV. But the city's District Attorney said "this is one that's going to take time to solve," per the report. Representatives for the San Francisco police department and the city's department of emergency management did not respond to Insider's requests for comment on Friday. The San Francisco police previously said in a statement that they responded to a call regarding the attack early morning on Tuesday at 2:35 a.m. The District Attorney's office can't make a determination on bringing charges until police have concluded their investigation and made an arrest, a representative for the DA's office previously told Insider.

☆ San Francisco mayor says the city is 'prioritizing public safety' after Cash App creator's fatal stabbing during visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

San Francisco's mayor called the death of Cash App creator Bob Lee "a horrible tragedy." London Breed said police are investigating, and San Francisco is "prioritizing public safety." Breed pointed to a recent budget supplemental that will put more police in SF neighborhoods. He tagged San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to ask if "the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders." San Francisco's violent crime rates are relatively favorable compared to other large cities, like Chicago and Los Angeles.

☆ Bob Lee: Moments following stabbing of Cash App founder captured on video, local news site reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Taylor Romine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The moments following the San Francisco stabbing attack of Cash App founder Bob Lee were captured on surveillance video and in a 911 call to authorities, according to a local Bay Area news portal. The driver of the Toyota pulls the car away and Lee collapses to the ground. Lee manages to get up and walk a bit further before he collapses in front of an apartment building. “No one who commits a violent crime, or who’s a repeat offender are receiving overly lenient plea deals.”Her comments appear to be in response to Twitter’s new owner, billionaire Elon Musk. In total, there were 56 homicides in San Francisco in 2022, the same as in 2021.

☆ Security footage reportedly shows Cash App creator Bob Lee looking for help in downtown San Francisco after he was stabbed
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Grace Kay | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, called Lee's fatal attack a "horrible tragedy." The video shows Lee apparently seeking help after his stabbing attack in the Rincon Hill neighborhood in downtown San Francisco, according to a report from ABC's San Francisco affiliate, KGO-TV. But The San Francisco Standard said the car pulled away and Lee then appeared to drop down to the ground. The San Francisco Police Department did not respond to Insider's request for comment on Thursday morning ahead of publication. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said that "San Francisco is prioritizing public safety," amid calls by tech industry leaders including Elon Musk to address safety concerns in the city.

☆ Cash App creator Bob Lee moved out of San Francisco because he thought the city was 'deteriorating' shortly before he was stabbed there, friend says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Cash App creator Bob Lee was fatally stabbed in San Francisco earlier this week. His friend, Jake Shields, told NewsNation that Lee had recently relocated to Miami. Lee moved out of San Francisco because he thought it was unsafe, Shields added. "[Lee] did comment on San Francisco deteriorating, which is why he actually had just relocated to Miami," Shields told the outlet. Shields told NewsNation the attack was a "senseless act of violence in San Francisco," adding that the city has had "problems" for a while.

☆ San Francisco's homicide rate is low compared to other big cities, but the killing of tech founder Bob Lee shows that doesn't tell the whole story
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The tragic killing of tech founder Bob Lee has reignited the debate over crime in San Francisco. Those stats compare relatively favorably to other big cities in the US, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing FBI data. Meanwhile, the homicide rate in San Francisco was 5 per 100,000 in 2020, the FBI's crime data shows, as analyzed by the San Francisco Chronicle. It's also lower than other cities of comparable sizes to San Francisco, including Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, the San Francisco Police Department must conclude its investigation before the DA's office can step in, Randy Quezada, communications director at the San Francisco District Attorney's office, told Insider's Grace Kay and Sindhu Sundar.

☆ The 'office apocalypse' won't doom big cities — it's actually making them stronger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Matthew E. Kahn | Christopher Okada | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

In San Francisco, tax revenue is projected to drop by as much as a billion dollars over the next six years. In order to bring in these new residents, cities will have to shift some of their priorities. Research coauthored by Steven Levitt of "Freakonomics" found that increases in violent and property crimes were correlated with city residents migrating to the suburbs. All is not lostThere's little doubt that superstar cities like New York and San Francisco have serious problems on their hands. Christopher Okada is the CEO of Okada & Company, a full-service commercial real estate brokerage and investment company in New York City.

☆ San Francisco Mayor Lays Out Strategy to Jump-Start Downtown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jim Carlton | Peter Grant | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is aiming to beef up the law-enforcement presence downtown through more foot patrols. SAN FRANCISCO—Mayor London Breed rolled out her plan Thursday to revitalize the moribund downtown office market, the latest city to announce steps to recover from an exodus of workers during the pandemic. Ms. Breed’s “Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco’s Future” includes a mix of tax incentives and a renewed focus on cleaning up the streets.

☆ How San Francisco can tackle two of its biggest issues: office vacancies and housing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Sydney Boyo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"Prior to the pandemic, in the city of San Francisco, our office vacancy rate was about 4%. San Francisco has been referred to as the work-from-home capital of the United States, with the American Community Survey finding that 46% of employees in San Francisco worked from home in 2021, up from 7% in 2019. Under the Housing Element, the state of California is mandating that San Francisco build 82,000 new units of housing, including affordable units meant for low-income residents, by 2031. "The rents that you can get for a life sciences lab space are much higher than office space. The San Francisco mayor said the problem is that it takes a long time to build housing, especially given all the requirements.

☆ Miami Mayor Francis Suarez tapped several people close to Elon Musk to urge him to relocate Twitter out of San Francisco: 'They belong here'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez wants Twitter to relocate from San Francisco to Miami. He told Insider he has reached out to people close to Twitter CEO Elon Musk. Suarez publicly urged Twitter to move its headquarters to Miami by tweeting the suggestion to CEO Elon Musk at the beginning of December. Suarez, 45, is a Republican but the office of the Miami mayor is considered nonpartisan. As CEO of Twitter, Musk has promised to unleash free speech.

☆ 9 tech companies that have ditched San Francisco offices in 2022 are a warning sign for cities to rethink their reliance on big firms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

San Francisco should be a cautionary tale for cities that rely on tech firms to fill office space. At least nine companies have exited office space in the city, . Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told Bloomberg that San Francisco needed "more diversity" in its economic and tax base, as well as more residential homes and cultural attractions downtown. Meta is planning to leave some of its office space in San Francisco. PayPal left its office in San Francisco this summer.

☆ The CEO of Elon Musk's Boring Company slept at Twitter HQ with his partner and newborn baby, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Boring Company CEO slept at Twitter's HQ with his partner and baby, The Information reported. Steve Davis and his family all slept in its makeshift bedrooms for weeks after the baby was born. Steve Davis spent the first few weeks after his baby was born sleeping in a makeshift bedroom in the San Francisco office, along with his partner. Forbes revealed earlier this month that the "Chief Twit" had converted some space in the San Francisco office into bedrooms. Soon afterwards the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection said it was investigating the building's use after a complaint was made.

☆ There’s a Reason the Homeless Flock to San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Members of the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team, Dec. 13, 2022. Photo: Godofredo A. Vásquez/Associated PressMany advocates claim that providing a welcoming environment for camping and drugs doesn’t attract the homeless, and that only more subsidized housing can solve homelessness. San Francisco shows the folly of those arguments (“Why San Francisco Is a Homeless Mecca,” Review & Outlook, Aug. 7). According to the city’s own statistics, almost 30% of the homeless moved there after they had already lost housing. As Mayor London Breed admits, one reason people are coming is easy access to drugs.

Persons: London Breed Organizations: San Francisco Homeless Outreach, Associated Press, San Francisco, ” Locations: San, Francisco

☆ Elon Musk defends installing bedrooms at Twitter HQ, saying he's merely 'providing beds for tired employees'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk has defended his decision to install bedrooms in Twitter's San Francisco HQ. Musk said he's simply "providing beds for tired employees." San Francisco has reportedly launched an investigation into the installation of the bedrooms. Twitter employees on Monday discovered some offices and conference rooms at Twitter HQ had bare mattresses and curtains inside, two anonymous people with knowledge of the matter told Forbes. Representatives for Twitter and the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment, made outside normal working hours.

☆ Remote Work Is Gutting Downtowns, Will Cost Cities $453 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Emil Skandul | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Even 2 1/2 years later, most city downtowns aren't back to where they were prepandemic. Without more-robust policies to address failing downtowns, cities are going to start hurting. The increased cancellations of office leases have cratered the office real-estate market. Since 2016, only 112 commercial office spaces in the US have been converted, while 85 projects are underway or have been announced, according to CBRE's data. The birth of the central social districtTo avoid a commercial real-estate apocalypse, cities will need to streamline conversions.

☆ San Francisco has a 'Poop Patrol' to deal with its feces problem, and workers make more than $184,000 a year in salary and benefits
▼ + stars: | 2018-08-23 | by ( Aria Bendix | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Employees of San Francisco's "Poop Patrol" are set to earn $71,760 a year, plus an additional $112,918 in benefits, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn San Francisco, you can earn more than $184,000 a year in salary and benefits for cleaning up feces. As members of the city's "Poop Patrol," workers are entitled to $71,760 a year, plus an additional $112,918 in benefits, such as healthcare and retirement savings, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. As San Francisco faces a shortage of affordable housing, it has struggled to accommodate its more than 7,400 homeless residents. The city's feces problem is a visible reminder of the gap between its rich and poor.

Persons: London Breed Organizations: San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Department of Public, San Francisco, London, NBC Locations: San, Francisco, —, San Francisco

Search resuls for: "London Breed"

25 mentions found