Buyers back out of deal to purchase San Francisco Centre

SAN FRANCISCO - The sale of the San Francisco Centre, a former commercial center in the heart of the city’s downtown, has been called off.

The joint venture between San Francisco developers Presidio Bay and Prado Group announced on Wednesday that they had declined to move forward with their plan to purchase the building. The sales price is not known.

"Presidio Bay Ventures and the Prado Group were diligently evaluating a potential purchase transaction involving San Francisco Centre and the Emporium buildings, including Bloomingdales," a release from the two companies states. "After extensive diligence and thoughtful evaluation, we are not currently moving forward with the transaction… We are not at liberty to comment any further at this time."

What we know:

Presidio Bay is a commercial real estate investment and development firm that focuses on commercial, residential and mixed-use projects across the country.

Prado Group is a privately held real estate investment and development company that focuses on urban residential, retail, office and mixed-use properties in California.

The 1.2 million-square-foot San Francisco Centre, known in years past as Westfield and Emporium, among other names, has been in a steady decline since previous owners Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Brookfield Properties defaulted on their loan and stopped making mortgage payments in 2023. Anchor tenant Nordstrom left the same year.

The backstory:

The mall in Sept. 2025 was reportedly 95% empty, and continued to lose retailers and restaurants in its food court.

While the mall’s business has flagged in recent years, the area surrounding the property has seen something of a renaissance with new shops pupping up — some through the city’s Vacant to Vibrant revitalization program, but also stores that are looking to stick around the long-term, like the Union Square Nintendo Store, which opened in May, 2025.

 

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