San Francisco Centre Mall Foreclosed After Two Years Without a Buyer

The San Francisco Centre Mall, a high-profile retail property in downtown San Francisco, has officially been foreclosed after sitting without an owner for more than two years. The foreclosure marks another setback for the city’s struggling retail core.

According to a notice of trustee sale filed with the San Francisco assessor’s office, the building located at 865 Market Street is scheduled for public auction after its former owners defaulted on a substantial loan. The mall, previously owned by a joint venture between Brookfield Properties and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, was handed back to lenders in 2022. Since then, it has remained in financial limbo.

The building secured the loan in 2016 from a consortium led by Wells Fargo. That loan was valued at roughly $558 million. With the mall’s financial performance deteriorating post-pandemic and foot traffic plunging, Brookfield and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield chose not to continue operating the property.

Westfield publicly exited the property in June 2023, citing a 43 percent drop in sales compared to 2019 and the loss of key tenants. Notably, Nordstrom, one of the mall’s anchor retailers, closed its store last summer. The mall’s interior has since experienced increased vacancy, which contributed to its plunging valuation.

In 2016, the San Francisco Centre was appraised at over $1 billion. By 2023, commercial real estate data firm Green Street estimated its value had fallen by more than 70 percent. As vacancy across downtown San Francisco increased, investor confidence in large-scale retail spaces eroded. Several analysts say that the challenges facing the Centre Mall reflect broader dynamics across U.S. urban cores, where remote work, crime perceptions, and retail shifts continue to drive long-term uncertainty.

The upcoming foreclosure auction underscores the fragile state of legacy commercial properties in San Francisco. City officials have promoted investment incentives and proposed zoning changes to recover the economic vitality of the Mid-Market and Union Square districts, but progress remains slow. The fate of the 1.5-million-square-foot mall now depends on whether a buyer steps forward with a viable plan for the space.

For now, the mall will remain open, but without a clear ownership structure or strategic direction. The auction date has not yet been publicly announced.