Our Work
Downtown San Francisco’s revitalization demands action on multiple fronts. We run five programs to accelerate the city’s economic revitalization and vibrancy — and build a downtown for everyone.
Clean & Safe streets build the foundation. Arts & Culture fills our streets with people. Investments in Public Spaces create welcoming places worth visiting. Our Real Estate work reduces vacancies and attracts residents, businesses, and visitors. And our Downtown Business Fund provides support to businesses ready to expand or open downtown.
Together, these programs create a flywheel of investment, activity, and confidence.
Overview
Our programs share a strategic logic: downtown’s economic recovery depends on increasing foot traffic, reducing vacancy, creating jobs, and growing the residential population. Each program targets a specific driver of recovery and reinforces the others.
The DDC tracks progress through concrete economic indicators including foot traffic, office and retail vacancy rates, job creation, and residential population growth. We partner with the City and other downtown groups to develop rigorous, pillar-level metrics alongside project-specific indicators, ensuring our resources flow to the interventions that move the needle.
Clean & Safe
Clean and safe streets are downtown’s foundation. The DDC funds safety and hospitality ambassadors, supports SFPD recruitment, and funds daily deep cleaning along key corridors, building conditions where residents, workers, and visitors feel welcome and secure.
Downtown Business Fund
The Downtown Business Fund offers grants up to $500,000 and loans from $100,000 to $1 million to help businesses open and expand downtown. We provide one-on-one support through technical assistance to help businesses every step of the way.
Public Spaces
Thriving public spaces attract people and investment. The DDC supports once-in-a-generation capital projects, from the Powell Street (aka “cable car turnaround”) Improvement Project to Embarcadero Plaza & Sue Bierman Park Renovation Project, that transform downtown’s streetscapes and create vibrant destinations.
Arts & Culture
Downtown San Francisco is a world-class cultural destination, and the DDC helps keep it that way. We support Downtown First Thursdays, commission public art, and support seasonal programming that activates and fills streets and supports local businesses.
Real Estate
Downtown San Francisco faces high office and retail vacancies. The DDC catalyzes real estate investment, supports office-to-residential conversions, and creates conditions for downtown to become a thriving mixed-use district.