TOPIC
Charting San Francisco's Economic Future
Explore the strategies and initiatives that are ensuring a prosperous and sustainable economy that benefits all of San Francisco.
Our Strategies
Reimagine Downtown
Downtown San Francisco generates 40% of the City's tax revenue, which is why we're taking bold steps to remove barriers and create new opportunities to restore this critical tax base and secure our position as a global destination where innovation thrives. Our goal is to transform downtown into a 24/7 neighborhood where people live, work, and play.How we’re doing it:
- Support for small businesses to activate vacant storefronts through the City's leasing team, our Vacant to Vibrant program and Downtown SF Vibrancy Loan Fund.
- Create incentives and eliminate roadblocks to spur construction of new housing downtown.
- Commercial-to-Residential Adaptive Reuse Program
- Real estate transfer tax waiver for commercial-to-housing conversion projects
- Downtown Revitalization Financing District
- Attract universities and colleges to locate or grow their presence downtown.
- Add new experiences, strengthen destination retail, and bolster tourist activity through partnerships that support daily activation of Union Square and marquee events such as Winter Walk and Let’s Glow.
- Invest in public spaces through upgrading plazas, streets, sidewalks, and parks to create a walkable, inviting, and neighborly environment.
Make it easier to start and grow a business
By cutting red tape through permit reform, offering incentives, and simplifying city processes, San Francisco is actively encouraging businesses to start, stay, and grow citywide. This approach is also diversifying business ownership, fostering a more vibrant community.How we're doing it
- PermitSF to make the permit process fast, predictable, transparent and unified.
- New tax credit to help open your business.
- Business tax reform to ease small business costs and streamline tax rules.
- First Year Free to waive initial fees for new businesses in their first year.
- Storefront Opportunity Grant to help small businesses open or expand a storefront.
- The Office of Small Business provides one-on-one business counseling, permitting, and leasing services to entrepreneurs citywide.
Spur housing production
Reducing barriers to housing construction will ensure that future residents at all income levels can call San Francisco home.How we're doing it:
- Increase capacity for housing development.
- Central SOMA and East Cut neighborhoods zoning reform
- See also, Family Zoning
- Inclusionary housing and development impact fee reforms
- Advance multi-phase development projects: Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island, Potrero Power Station, Balboa Reservoir, and Stonestown.
Position San Francisco as a leading arts, culture, and nightlife destination
Continued support for the city's world-class arts, culture, and nightlife will ensure a vibrant and bustling San Francisco, attracting a wide range of people from morning until night.How we're doing it:
Grow and prepare our workforce
By growing and diversifying our workforce and providing targeted training, we connect residents to careers across key industries. This ensures that every resident can build a prosperous future while providing businesses and organizations with the skilled talent they need to thrive.Learn more about our Workforce DivisionHow we’re doing it:
We invest in strategic initiatives that create a skilled and versatile talent pipeline for San Francisco. Our approach includes both training residents and partnering with employers of all types and sizes.
- Construction: Our CityBuild program trains a skilled workforce to build the critical infrastructure that keeps our city strong.
- Healthcare: The Healthcare Academy prepares residents for essential careers in the healthcare sector, helping our community stay healthy and thriving.
- Hospitality: We support San Francisco's world-class tourism, cuisine, and culture with our Hospitality Initiative, which trains residents to become professionals and entrepreneurs who enrich our restaurants, bars, and hotels.
- Technology: The TechSF initiative provides a steady pipeline of certified talent by training residents in high-demand technical skills that support innovation across every industry.
- Employer Services: We help companies succeed by providing them with the talent they need, from sourcing and recruiting to connecting with qualified candidates.