San Francisco mall eyed for potential AI data center redevelopment
KG Growth Partners has inquired about developing part of San Francisco Centre mall into an AI data center and AI-controlled living space with an unidentified partner. The proposal comes as Mayor Daniel Lurie has enacted a 45-day moratorium on new data center approvals while the San Francisco Planning Department studies their impacts.
KG Growth Partners has asked San Francisco officials about permitting a data center in the roughly 350,000-square-foot portion of the shuttered San Francisco Centre mall formerly occupied by Bloomingdale’s. The Maryland-based firm says it is working with an unidentified AI laboratory and envisions keeping the ground floors active while using upper floors for technical purposes and AI-related living space.
The proposal emerged shortly after Mayor Daniel Lurie signed a 45-day moratorium barring the city from approving new data centers. The San Francisco Planning Department is expected to study the facilities’ impacts during the pause. KG Growth Partners CEO Jared Kreiger said the redevelopment could address downtown’s high vacancy while incorporating features such as a rooftop garden.
The mall’s ownership and redevelopment plans remain unsettled. B3 Investors has reportedly pursued the Bloomingdale’s section and the broader property, while previous owners Presidio Bay Ventures and Prado Group abandoned a planned retail and commercial conversion after lease negotiations failed. Other redevelopment concepts have included a soccer stadium and a sports complex.