Downtown San Francisco is showing promising signs of revival as two prominent retailers reveal plans to reopen their stores, which they previously closed in 2023.
According to the San Francisco Business Times, AT&T is set to return to the iconic One Powell Street location. Meanwhile, a few blocks away, luxury fashion reseller The RealReal is preparing to unveil a ‘reimagined’ flagship store at 253 Post Street.
These locations, situated in San Francisco’s vibrant Union Square area, have remained empty since both companies ceased operations there nearly three years ago.
The reopening of these stores offers a beacon of hope for downtown businesses, which have been grappling with significant challenges since 2023.
During that year, nearly half of Union Square’s retailers shuttered their doors, driven by escalating issues of crime and homelessness.
From the 203 stores active in the neighborhood in 2019, only 107 were still operating by May 2023, marking a staggering 47 percent decline over just four years.
At the time, Nordstrom Rack released a statement announcing its Union Square location closure that said: ‘Decisions like this are never easy, and this one has been especially difficult.
‘But as many of you know, the dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.’
AT&T is moving back into this location in the One Powell Street building, which has been vacant since 2023 when the company moved out. The location is pictured unoccupied in 2025
The One Powell Street building AT&T store is pictured in 2025, when the company still occupied the space. The date of its return to the space has not yet been announced
AT&T and nearly 100 other stores closed locations in San Francisco’s Union Square neighborhood in 2023 due to rampant homelessness and crime. Some homeless people in the city are pictured
The San Francisco Centre Mall, which is across the street from One Powell Street, was more scathing in a statement to the Washington Post, telling the outlet that it faced ‘unsafe conditions for customers, retailers, and employees.’
The mall said: ‘These significant issues are preventing an economic recovery of the area.’
Notably, the 2023 figure of a 47 percent drop in businesses did not include the 100 stores in the San Francisco Centre, which were still open despite the neighborhood’s challenges.
But a little more than three weeks ago, on January 26, the beloved mall permanently closed after all but one of its retail tenants abandoned the shopping center over the past few years.
Rumors of the mall’s closure had been circulating for months as sprawling homeless encampments had been deterring tourists and locals alike.
There is hope that AT&T and the RealReal reopening their locations marks the beginning of a turnaround for the Union Square neighborhood, and the San Francisco Centre closing was just the end of the decline that began in 2023.
The RealReal announced on Wednesday that its flagship store will return on February 26. AT&T’s reopening date has not been announced yet.
Rati Sahi Levesque, CEO of the RealReal, said in a press release: ‘San Francisco is where The RealReal was founded, and reopening our Union Square flagship reflects our optimism and confidence in the city’s long-term vitality.
Luxury fashion reseller the RealReal will move back into this location at 253 Post Street. It has been vacant since the company moved out in 2023
The RealReal storefront at 253 Post Street is pictured in 2022. The company plans to return to the location on February 26 with a ‘reimagined’ flagship
The San Francisco Centre Mall closed a little more than three weeks ago after almost all of its retail tenants moved out. The interior of the mall is pictured
‘This investment strengthens our physical presence in a key market and supports our belief that circular luxury is integral to the future of modern retail.’
Despite the CEO’s apparent optimism, most of the stores that closed in Union Square in 2023 have not yet returned.
There have been a few other reopenings in different neighborhoods, such as H&M in the Stonestown Galleria mall last year and Uniqlo’s planned return to the Powell Street Area.
But more reopenings in Union Square may be on the horizon, as the neighborhood has seen an increase in leasing and foot traffic, and free outdoor events have been planned in the area through next year.
There have also been new businesses that recently opened, including a Pop Mart, a Dandelion Chocolate and a Bourbon Steak restaurant.
Japanese street wear brand Bape has also leased space at 216 Stockton St, the San Francisco Business Times reported.
As for the city’s homelessness and crime, which were the root causes of the mass closures in 2023, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has reportedly managed to reduce crime by 30 percent in the last year.
The mayor, who took office in January of last year, has also overseen a significant reduction in the number of homeless tents in the city.
The reopenings in San Francisco’s Union Square offer a glimmer of hope for businesses in the neighborhood. The city’s skyline is pictured
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, who took office in January of last year, has overseen reductions in crime and the number of homeless tents since the start of his term
There were 245 homeless tents in San Francisco at the start of Lurie’s term, which dropped to 162 by December 2025, according to the most recent data from the city’s Department of Emergency Management.
The December figure also represents a stunning 85 percent plunge from the peak of 1,108 homeless tents in April of 2020.
The Department of Emergency Management’s data for the total number of homeless people in San Francisco is more out of date. The most recent figures are from 2024.
