Austin Klar updates on San Francisco's Westfield mall, which lenders took back during the pandemic after vacancy and crime drove the owner to surrender it. The foreclosure auction finally happened after nine delays, with lenders bidding $133 million. The site could become mixed-use development under its 400-foot height limit.
We finally have a buyer for the most infamous mall in America after the former Emporium turned Westfield was surrendered to its lenders during the pandemic because of a deluge of vacancies and concerns about crime in the area. A foreclosure auction was set to find a potential buyer for the now mostly vacant mall, but the auction was delayed 9 times as vacancies continued to pile on and potential investors grew increasingly concerned about the mall's future given city dynamics. But at long last, the foreclosure auction took place and a winner was crowned. There was only one bid at the auction, the lenders to whom the bank was surrendered when Brookfield Field and Westfield stopped making their loan payments. They bid the minimum bid, $133 million, and since retained CBRE to market the basically vacant mall for sale. The building's approved for a 400-foot height limit, so we could see mixed-use space rise there. Anyone's guess at this point, but good to see that chapter close and pave the way for the future of this space. I would love to have a casino right in the heart of downtown. That'd be a cool add to a mixed-use space. But let me know what you think the mall should be turned into in the comments, and follow me for more Bay Area real estate.
