J.K. Dineen

1 week ago | fresnobee.com | J.K. Dineen

A week after Mayor Daniel Lurie's administration released a proposal to allow taller buildings along transit routes, San Franciscans descended on City Hall Thursday to weigh in on the plan that would bring more housing to neighborhoods from the Marina to the Sunset to the Richmond District. Some residents praised the proposal as a roadmap to a more inclusive and affordable city while others condemned it as a recipe for displacement and the destruction of neighborhood character.

1 week ago | sfchronicle.com | J.K. Dineen

The seven-hour planning commission hearing was the first of many public meetings about the state-mandated plan to rezone the city to accommodate about 36,000 new units by 2031. The plan must be approved by January of next year, or San Francisco risks losing control of its approval process under state law. It’s unclear when the commission will vote on the plan, which also needs approval from the Board of Supervisors.

1 week ago | sanluisobispo.com | J.K. Dineen

Earlier this month, the menswear brand John Varvatos took a step that has become all too common among major retailers: It shuttered its store at the San Francisco Centre, the mostly empty mall on Market Street. But it turns out that the mall's loss will be Union Square's gain. The luxury menswear retailer has leased 5,000 square feet at 58 Geary St., a space previously home to Alexander McQueen, which closed in 2023. For John Varvatos, the move is a bit of a homecoming.

1 week ago | sfchronicle.com | J.K. Dineen

Earlier this month, the menswear brand John Varvatos took a step that has become all too common among major retailers: It shuttered its store at the San Francisco Centre, the mostly empty mall on Market Street. But it turns out that the mall’s loss will be Union Square’s gain. The luxury menswear retailer has leased 5,000 square feet at 58 Geary St., a space previously home to Alexander McQueen, which closed in 2023. For John Varvatos, the move is a bit of a homecoming.

2 weeks ago | sanluisobispo.com | J.K. Dineen

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie on Thursday is set to release a proposed rezoning that would allow taller buildings along transit routes from the Marina to the Sunset to the Richmond districts, changes he said will accommodate 36,000 new housing units while reshaping parts of the city that have seen little construction in the last 50 years. "For too long San Francisco has treated new housing as something to be feared instead of something to be welcomed.