San Francisco’s largest mall unexpectedly closes ahead of schedule
The city’s largest shopping mall planned to be closed at the end of the weekendSaturday morning was locked and dark.
A sign posted at the entrance to San Francisco Center said the downtown mall was “closed until further notice.”
An employee of Ecco, the mall’s last remaining tenant, confirmed that the shoe store and mall are permanently closing earlier than expected, ahead of the previously announced closing date on Monday.
The early closing marks the latest chapter in what was once San Francisco’s largest and most exclusive mall, following years of vacancies and tenants vacating the downtown landmark.
San Francisco Center had been in the process of being liquidated for months by its new owners, a group of lenders who bought out the mall’s debt in November. As of this week, Ecco was the only remaining tenant in what was once a bustling, high-rise retail center at Market and Fifth Avenue.
At the beginning of the week, BART closed entrance It connects Powell Street Station directly to the mall, closing a gateway that has directed commuters and shoppers to the mall for decades. The closure fueled speculation online that a shutdown was imminent.
A sign hung at the entrance of the San Francisco Center on Saturday, January 24, 2026, announces that the shopping center is closed. (Courtesy of Nicole Frugé)
The mall first announced that it would close at the end of business on Sunday, when Ecco was expected to close its doors. Instead, the closure came early, bringing a quicker-than-expected end to the mall’s long decline.
San Francisco Center has struggled for years with declining foot traffic, a problem made worse by the pandemic and the shift to remote work. The decline in activity in the Powell Street corridor has contributed to the departures of major anchor tenants Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, accelerating what many retail experts describe as a downward spiral.
Brokerage firm CBRE has been hired to market the property, even though real estate experts warn that redeveloping the massive, transit-connected complex would be extremely expensive and technically challenging.
What will happen next remains unclear. City officials and planners have floated a variety of ideas, from housing and arts venues to large-scale entertainment uses, but redeveloping the massive transit-connected site would likely take years and require significant investment.
Mall management did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the early closing.
This article was first published at: San Francisco’s largest shopping mall is closing unexpectedly ahead of schedule.
