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 * Hayes Point was intended to revive San Francisco's struggling downtown
 * The $1.2 billion tower was halted after developers failed to find tenants
 * Almost 100 big brands have fled the metro due to crime and homelessness 

The developer behind a major San Francisco building project has halted
construction over poor market conditions as crime and homeless continue to deter
retailers and customers from the downtown area.

Hayes Point, a $1.2 billion tower in the heart of San Francisco, has been paused
'until markets normalize' after developer Lendlease admitted it couldn't find
enough tenants in the struggling metro. 

The announcement is a major blow to the downtown area where at least 95
retailers have packed up and left since the start of the COVID pandemic. 

Almost 7,000 households a month also fled the city at its peak in August 2020,
as soft-on-crime policing and facilitation of widespread homelessness sparked
backlash.

The crisis has now seemingly spread to the city's real estate market, as
Lendlease's executive general manager Arden Hearing said he would be 'pausing
construction on Hayes Point until markets normalize and we’re able to bring in
early tenancy commitments, or a capital partner, or both.'






Hayes Point was one of the few remaining construction projects underway in San
Francisco, and its halting comes as a major upset to city officials after they
introduced measures to revive the downtown area around it.



The recent moves include easing the process for office-to-residential
conversions and cutting fees with the hope of kickstarting construction
projects, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

The tower, expected to be finished by 2026, was set to be a mixed-use complex,
with 333 residential properties stacked on top of 290,000 square feet of office
space. 

An arts space and retailers were also planned for the ground floor, although it
is unclear which retailers will be left by the time it 'potentially' restarts in
2024 after brands including Brooks Brothers, Ray Ban, Christian Louboutin,
Lululemon and Nordstrom left the area due to its untamed crimewave. 

The crime epidemic has devolved in the city to the point where one Target
location was forced to lock its entire product range behind security glass. 

The tower's apartments may also struggle to bring in the revenue expected, with
the zip code it is in seeing a 12 percent decline in home prices from 2022 to
2023. 

Speaking at an earnings report meeting when the decision to pause was announced,
Lendlease CEO Tony Lombardo said the decision to halt the project was to
'de-risk' the investment after it already cost $260 million, reports
Construction Drive. 




The stall also comes after Lendlease was also forced to lay off about 10 percent
of its global staff in mid-July. Despite the downturn, Lombardo added that 'from
a capital perspective, we still see good returns in that (Hayes Point)
project.' 





When he announced the move Monday, Hearing said Lendlease would 'monitor the
markets while exploring options for a potential re-start in 2024,' adding that
the project's admin would still be continued in the background so that 'Hayes
Point is well positioned once construction resumes.' 



But the building's struggles with its surrounding area ironically come after
Hearing reportedly bragged about its amenities last September. 

He said it is a rarity as a multi-use building for residences, retailers and
offices, which would be looked at 'as a vertical ecosystem, within the
neighborhood ecosystem.' 

Hearing also said one of the project's perks was that is will be on 'top of
probably the most transit-rich site in the city', however it remains to be seen
what - if anything - people will transit to in the declining city. 

San Francisco has been marred by the combination of a severe downturn in the
tech industry coupled with woke policies facilitating crime and homelessness. 






Despite official reports that San Francisco's crime rate is on the way down, one
former prosecutor claimed in May that the city's liberal district attorney's
decision not to prosecute many crimes skewed those numbers. 



The issue has driven numerous retailers from the area, as rampant crime in
downtown San Francisco has left numerous retailers throwing up their hands and
moving out.

In April, Whole Foods announced it was closing its locations, while
Anthropologie and Office Depot have also left. And when the Westfield Mall
announced it was joining the group of businesses to flee the city, it bluntly
told the Washington Post that the metro's issues led to 'unsafe conditions for
customers, retailers, and employees.' 

The mall said 'these significant issues are preventing an economic recovery of
the area.' 

When the pandemic initially hit, California's troubles with homelessness and law
breaking saw Gap become the first to announce its departure, in August 2020.



This was swiftly followed by H&M and Marshall's, but Whole Foods seemed defiant
as it opened a new 'flagship' location at Trinity Place in the city's Tenderloin
District in March 2022, hoping to revitalize footfall after two years of
draconian COVID-19 restrictions severely impacted businesses in the area.

But a Whole Foods spokesperson declared the store closed down in April due to
safety concerns for its staff. 'We are closing our Trinity location only for the
time being,' the spokesperson said in a statement. 

'If we feel we can ensure the safety of our team members in the store, we will
evaluate a reopening of our Trinity location.'

Industry groups have noted that there is an issue with theft, with the National
Retail Federation saying that organized retail crime is setting stores back
around $100 billion a year, according to a 2022 survey.

In 2021, retailers saw a 27 per cent increase in theft carried out by organized
criminal rings, the survey found. To tackle the issue, they invested more money
in safety and security measures to protect employees, customers and merchandise.

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There aren’t many question marks for the San Francisco 49ers as they roll
through training camp. Quarterback Brock Purdy is healthy and has assumed his
role as the starter. The team is healthy and looks like one of the strongest
teams in the NFL once again.

The only issue looming over the franchise is the contract extension for Nick
Bosa. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has not been in training camp as
he is awaiting a new contract from the team.

Bosa and his representatives have a clear goal in mind with his next contract;
they want to either match or clear the deal Aaron Donald signed with the Los
Angeles Rams. The star defensive tackle agreed to a three-year, $95 million
contract last year and provides the 49ers with a baseline in negotiations with
Bosa.

Unfortunately, those talks have not progressed in the manner the 49ers had
hoped. There has been very little communication between Bosa’s representatives
and the team, as things are at a bit of a stalemate.




That could spell some doom for the 49ers, as Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda.com
provided an update that will worry fans of the team. According to sources
Pauline talked to, there is a chance that Bosa won’t be back before the regular
season begins.



“Sources tell me the Bosa situation could last a while and it’s not out of the
question the three-time Pro Bowler could miss the start of the season due to the
contract dispute.”

That is a worst-case scenario for the 49ers and Bosa. Because he is on his
rookie contract, all the fines he has been tolling will be reimbursed, so he has
no real incentive to report to training camp without a new deal.

This is something that San Francisco would prefer to get done as soon as
possible. If Bosa isn’t in the lineup in Week 1, their entire game plan
defensively will have to be changed. 

It would be impossible to replace the production that Bosa provides. In addition
to that, without him in the lineup, it would mean the 49ers’ three top players
in sacks from 2022 would not be on the field to start 2023.

Want more articles like this? Follow NFL Analysis Network on MSN to see more of
our exclusive NFL content.

More must-reads:

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 * The '1,000 rushing yards as a rookie' quiz




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