In February 2024, Macy’s Inc. announced that its flagship store in San Francisco’s Union Square was on the chopping block. The news dismayed locals and visitors who couldn’t imagine the city’s prime shopping area without it. So when Mayor Daniel Lurie announced on Tuesday, Nov. 4, that the iconic store would remain open for business after all, people were excited.
Yet Macy’s future as a retail store is much less secure than has been reported.
There is no assurance that Macy’s Union Square will continue as a retail store after the 2025 holidays. It’s a maybe at best.
For clarification, we reached out to Macy’s Inc. Communications Officer Orlando Veras, who responded with a press release that indicated far murkier plans:
Macy’s, Inc. today announced that it has reached an agreement to form a venture with TMG Partners, one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s leading real estate firms, to explore the future potential of its historic Union Square property. The effort is part of Macy’s ongoing strategy to evaluate compelling options for its real estate portfolio.
The release goes on to say that TMG Partners will work with Macy’s to conduct a strategic assessment of the property, including exploring adaptive reuse and potential enhancements that “align with the needs of today’s office workers, residents, visitors, retail and local businesses.”
Per the release, the flagship store will remain open for the 2025 Christmas season. After that, there are no promises that Macy’s will continue to operate as a store in Union Square.
To secure more details, we reached out to TMG Partners. Company spokeswoman Julie Chase responded via email:
Macy’s is very specific in assuring all employees and shoppers that Macy’s will remain open through the holiday season, while it also is announcing the property will be re-envisioned.
Reenvisioned from a retail store into what? According to Chase, those announcements are expected to be made in 2026. Chase reiterated that Macy’s is working with TMG Partners to explore options for the building’s future: “This work is at an early stage, and no decisions have been made about the long-term use of the store or the site.”
Union Square is located in District 3, so we asked Supervisor Danny Sauter for a more definitive answer. Will Macy’s Union Square stay open as a retail store, or does the city have plans to convert the property into something else?
In an email, Sauter responded that he has been working with his colleagues to make housing conversions downtown more financially feasible.
Macy’s has indicated that they are staying indefinitely, and they are partnering with TMG Partners, a development firm, to consider new future uses for the building. That could, for example, look like a combination of retail and housing within the building. I’ve been working with my colleagues on a number of efforts to make housing conversions downtown more financially feasible, from waiving certain fees to speeding up approvals and offering tax incentives.
At this stage, there is no assurance that Macy’s Union Square will continue as a retail store after the 2025 holiday season. It’s a maybe at best. It appears that the city’s ultimate intention for the property is to develop it into housing. This is not what the public was led to believe, nor what they were celebrating when they heard the news.