The past month brought five stories that touch nearly every part of what makes San Francisco tick: housing, retail, food, and the ongoing debate over how the city builds new homes and reinvents itself. Here is what happened and what each one means for the city.
Is a Data Center Coming to the Cow Palace?
A Brief History of the Cow Palace
If you grew up anywhere near San Francisco, you know the Cow Palace, the massive hut-shaped arena on the San Francisco and Daly City border. It opened in the 1940s as the California State Livestock Pavilion, built with federal Public Works Administration funding at the tail end of the Depression.
The name started as an insult. In 1935, a local newspaper asked why anyone would spend money on a “palace for cows” while people were struggling. The nickname stuck so firmly that by opening day, organizers stopped fighting it and leaned in.
The building has earned its legendary status since. It has hosted political conventions, and JFK announced his plans for the Peace Corps there in 1960. The Beatles, Elvis, Prince, and the Grateful Dead have all played there. The Warriors called it home for parts of the 1960s before moving to Oakland. It still hosts the Grand National Rodeo every year, along with EDM concerts and other events.
What Global Stack Is Proposing
Today the Cow Palace is run by California’s Department of Food and Agriculture and has to be financially self-sustaining, so it is always looking for stable new revenue. That is where the news comes in. Global Stack LLC has proposed leasing about five acres of the 62-acre site for what it calls an “edge” data center, plus a multi-level parking garage and a helicopter landing pad.
This is not a hyperscale AI training campus like the ones going up elsewhere in the country. The proposal is much smaller, and Global Stack has pushed back on the “data center” label, framing it to local outlets as emergency response infrastructure for first responders, hospitals, and public safety agencies, with the helipad doubling as disaster response capacity.
The Cow Palace is one of eight Bay Area fairgrounds and 33 sites statewide that Global Stack has approached. The company’s stated goal is to build similar facilities at 70 California fairgrounds by 2030 under 100-year land leases.
Will It Actually Happen?
Cow Palace CEO Allison Keaney has stressed that the venue is still in the exploratory stage, with no contracts or agreements in place. There is good reason for caution. When Global Stack pitched the same idea to the Calistoga Fairgrounds, dozens of residents packed a public meeting to oppose it over noise and pollution, and the city killed the deal within two weeks. A recent local opinion piece also cited a Gallup poll finding that 71% of Americans oppose an AI-related data center in their own community.
Whether it happens is genuinely unclear. But it is worth watching, because if a site like the Cow Palace can be used this way, similar public venues could follow. Precedent matters here, and any project like this should be done thoughtfully, efficiently, and with as little harm to the surrounding community as possible. Expect a lot of public debate.
Why Are San Francisco Developers Increasing Unit Counts?
Just a couple of years ago, San Francisco’s development pipeline was producing new units at its slowest pace in years. Now, not only are more projects being proposed, but projects that were already proposed or approved are trying to go bigger.
Recent state and local zoning changes make that possible, including the recently passed Family Zoning Plan, which upzoned many neighborhoods and commercial corridors across the city. In short, it allows denser development than the old zoning did, especially along certain commercial corridors, and developers are taking advantage, even on projects already under construction.
Empire Theater in West Portal: 64 Units to 172
The historic Empire Theater in West Portal, shuttered for years, is the subject of a proposal for the largest housing complex West Portal has ever seen. The original application called for a nine-story building with 64 units. A revised proposal nearly triples that to 172 units and raises the height to 12 stories, designed by Handel Architects, the firm behind several standout residential buildings across the city.
3637 Sacramento Street in Presidio Heights: 18 Units to 36
A few miles away in Presidio Heights, a mixed-use building already under construction at 3637 Sacramento Street was approved for 18 apartments above ground-floor retail and a dentist’s office. Mid-construction, the developer has been exploring adding two floors and doubling the unit count to 36. The Marina Safeway redevelopment, which I covered last month, is another recent example of the same trend.
What Bigger Projects Signal About the Market
When developers redesign projects this large, sometimes mid-construction, it tells you the math has changed. Rising rents and home prices, return to office, falling crime and homelessness, falling retail and office vacancy, and more flexible zoning are all combining to change how these deals pencil and how developers view the trajectory of San Francisco housing.
The city badly needs more housing, so I welcome it. I also know there is real opposition in West Portal and the Marina over traffic, noise, views, and neighborhood character, and those concerns deserve a hearing as these projects move forward.
What Is JPMorgan Investing in the Potrero Power Station?
The Power Station Backstory
For over a century, the power plant on this stretch of the Potrero waterfront generated roughly a third of San Francisco’s electricity, until the state shut it down in 2010. Developer Fifth Space, formerly Associate Capital, bought the 29-acre site in 2016 and has been planning a 5.3 million square foot mixed-use neighborhood with about 2,600 homes, over a million square feet of commercial and lab space, and acres of new public waterfront parks.
The first phase is already real. The Sophie Maxwell Building, a 105-unit, 100% below-market-rate workforce housing project, has opened and is reportedly 90% leased. JPMorgan Chase helped finance it. UCSF has also broken ground on a cancer research facility at the site.
JPMorgan’s $200 Million Commitment
In August, JPMorgan announced roughly $200 million in financing for a new 342-unit residential building at the Power Station. Designed by Foster + Partners, it is expected to break ground this fall at 151 Humboldt Street.
JPMorgan is also putting up to $15 million into Fifth Space’s new Essential Housing Fund, expected to support around 250 additional affordable units in Potrero Hill, plus $6 million in grants to local housing organizations including the San Francisco Housing Accelerator Fund and the Housing Action Coalition.
The commitment is part of JPMorgan’s national American Dream Initiative, which the bank says will deploy more than $750 billion through 2035, with San Francisco named as an early focus market.
Why It Matters for San Francisco Housing
Construction lending for housing has been hard to find in San Francisco for the past few years. When a bank of JPMorgan’s size commits this kind of capital, it signals to every institutional lender on the sidelines that the risk calculus on San Francisco housing is shifting.
What Is Happening With the Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project?
It is not just housing. Commercial real estate is seeing renewed interest too, in restaurants and entertainment as well as office space. One of the most talked-about examples is the Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project, which has been in the works for years and remains one of the most polarizing real estate stories in the city.
How the Project Started
Starting in 2024, venture capitalist and Pacific Heights local Neil Mehta began buying commercial buildings along a few blocks of Fillmore Street in Pacific Heights and Lower Pacific Heights, known as Upper Fillmore. He has done so through a series of LLCs backed by a roughly $100 million fund that he says he donated to a nonprofit.
The stated goal, laid out by Mehta and executive director Cody Allen, is to restore and revitalize the corridor with locally owned businesses instead of national chains. In practice, that has meant buying out several long-running tenants, including some legacy businesses, and those closures and threatened closures have drawn public backlash.
The Latest Acquisition: 2035–2047 Fillmore
As of this summer, the project has bought at least eight buildings on the street for more than $50 million. The latest came in mid-August, when a Mehta-affiliated entity paid $8.6 million for the one-story building at 2035–2047 Fillmore Street, formerly home to Mio and A-Pizza. The plan is to combine four vacant storefronts into a single restaurant space.
New Restaurants Coming to Upper Fillmore
What I like most is the caliber of restaurants on the way. The former Noosh space at 2001 Fillmore is becoming Monami, a high-end Korean barbecue concept from the team behind Michelin-starred SSAL, targeting a September 2026 opening. The old Starbucks at 2222 Fillmore is being taken over by the chef behind Kin Khao and Nari for a new Thai concept. Michelin-caliber chefs opening in my own neighborhood is something I am genuinely excited about.
Reopening the Clay Theatre
The fund also bought the historic Clay Theatre, dark since early 2020, and is in the middle of a full restoration modeled after New York’s Metrograph art house cinema. Plans include a reconfigured stage, upgraded sound and projection, a new balcony, and a lobby cafe and bookstore. The theater is expected to have about 200 seats and host roughly 500 screenings a year, with a hoped-for opening within the next two years. After years as an eyesore on Fillmore, seeing the Clay’s lights back on with great programming will be a big moment for the street.
Where Is the New Tartine Opening in San Francisco?
The last story is smaller on paper, but I think it matters more than people realize as a signal of downtown’s recovery. Tartine, the bakery that helped kick off the modern artisan bread movement from its original Mission District storefront in 2002, is opening its fourth San Francisco location at 351 California Street, at the corner of California and Sansome near the cable car line.
The 4,000 square foot space has been vacant since a CVS closed there in 2022. It sits at the base of the historic J. Harold Dollar Building, a 16-story office tower in the heart of the Financial District. Tartine plans to serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with an opening targeted for next year.
What Tartine Signals for Downtown
This is a locally born, genuinely beloved brand choosing to expand into the Financial District, not a generic national chain backfilling space. It gives office workers, and the growing number of residents moving back to neighborhoods around downtown, a reason to be there outside nine to five.
Alongside the other restaurants and retailers opening nearby, consistent quarter-over-quarter declines in retail and office vacancy, rising foot traffic, more tourists and conventions, and new activations like free concerts, a tenant with Tartine’s pedigree is a strong sign that downtown’s resurgence is real.
What Do These Stories Mean for San Francisco Real Estate?
Each of these stories points the same direction in its own way. Developers are building bigger, major lenders are returning to San Francisco housing, investors are betting on neighborhood retail corridors, and beloved local brands are expanding downtown. Together, they show where the city is headed, how its commercial markets are recovering, and how San Francisco is changing the way it builds homes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a data center being built at the Cow Palace?
Not yet. Global Stack LLC has proposed leasing about five acres of the 62-acre Cow Palace site for an edge data center, parking garage, and helipad, which it frames as emergency response infrastructure. Cow Palace leadership says the idea is exploratory, with no contracts or agreements in place.
Who runs the Cow Palace?
The Cow Palace is run by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and must be financially self-sustaining.
How many units will the Empire Theater project in West Portal have?
The latest proposal calls for 172 units in a 12-story building designed by Handel Architects, up from an original plan of 64 units in nine stories.
Why are San Francisco developers adding units to approved projects?
Recent zoning changes, including the Family Zoning Plan, allow denser development, and improving market conditions such as rising rents and prices, return to office, and lower vacancy rates make larger projects pencil.
How much is JPMorgan investing in the Potrero Power Station?
About $200 million in financing for a 342-unit building at 151 Humboldt Street designed by Foster + Partners, plus up to $15 million for Fifth Space’s Essential Housing Fund and $6 million in grants to local housing organizations.
What is the Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project?
It is an effort led by venture capitalist Neil Mehta to buy commercial buildings on Upper Fillmore Street and fill them with locally owned businesses. It has acquired at least eight buildings for more than $50 million, including 2035–2047 Fillmore for $8.6 million in August 2026.
When will the Clay Theatre reopen?
The Clay Theatre is being fully restored as a roughly 200-seat art house cinema, with a hoped-for reopening within the next two years.
Where is the new Tartine in San Francisco?
Tartine’s fourth San Francisco location will be at 351 California Street at Sansome, in the base of the J. Harold Dollar Building in the Financial District, with an opening targeted for 2027.
Want to Know What These Changes Mean for Your Next Move?
Before real estate, I was a lawyer at one of the biggest law firms in the world, and I bring that same attention to detail to tracking how zoning changes, new developments, and the city’s recovery affect home values. I live in Pacific Heights and watch stories like Upper Fillmore unfold firsthand.
I have helped people relocate here from across the country and move within the city. If you are thinking about buying or selling in San Francisco and want to talk through how the AI boom, new developments, and the city’s recovery affect your plans, reach out. Whether you are ready to move or just keeping an eye on the market, I am happy to be a resource.
Austin Klar | Vanguard Properties | [email protected] | austinklar.com
