San Francisco’s downtown area has absorbed several hits since the COVID-19 pandemic set in four years ago. High costs of living and more employees working from home have driven workers out of the area and helped contribute to rising vacancy rates in the city.
The city’s office market now sits at 35.9 percent vacancy as remote work continues to impact companies according to the Real Deal.
It appears that the downtown area is going to take another hit, as news that accounting firm KPMG is considering leaving a 26-story office tower and moving into a smaller office in a different part of the city, according to the San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required).
KPMG occupies eight floors of a 380,000 square foot building that was built in 2002, accounting for one-third of the office building’s space.
Media outlet The Daily Mail reported that nearly 100 downtown San Francisco retailers have closed since the pandemic. Among the other businesses fleeing downtown include brands such as Adidas, Hollister and Lego.
Dave Lubach is executive editor of the facility market.
