Downtown Conversion District Advances as Committee Clears $130M in Grants and Contracts

San Francisco took a concrete step toward reimagining its struggling downtown Wednesday as the Budget & Finance Committee unanimously endorsed a new financing district designed to turn vacant office towers into housing—part of a marathon session that also approved emergency repairs to a historic dry dock, extended a contentious towing contract, and accepted the largest philanthropic grant Bloomberg has ever given to any city.

• Tax increment financing district for office-to-residential conversions moves to full Board, targeting 48 buildings and roughly 4,400 new units.

• Port secures $40M advisory contract for waterfront resilience and emergency authority to stabilize storm-damaged Dry Dock No. 2.

• SFMTA towing contract extended 15 months amid calls to rethink "poverty tows" that saddle low-income residents with crushing fees.

• $7M Bloomberg Philanthropies grant—the foundation's largest-ever city award—funds Mayor's Office of Innovation expansion.

• Three grants totaling $6.24M advance India Basin Shoreline Park, with some funding made retroactive.

• Advocates warn against privatizing core government functions through philanthropy-funded positions.

Why it matters: San Francisco's downtown vacancy rate hovers near historic highs, gutting transit ridership, street-level retail, and the tax base. The new Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District offers developers a financial bridge to convert obsolete office buildings into apartments—potentially bringing 7,000 new residents into the urban core.