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close video With all the businesses leaving San Francisco, ‘you’re not going to have a city left’: David Lee

Tacorea restaurant owner David Lee describes being mentally drained by the crime wave, and says he hasn’t received victim help from San Francisco leadership.

One of the largest publicly traded real estate investment trusts in the U.S. plans to close two of San Francisco's major downtown hotels, saying the city's streets are unsafe and expressing doubts about the area's ability to recover.

Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. announced this week that it stopped making payments on a $725 million loan that secured both its 1,921-room Hilton San Francisco Union Square and 1,024-room Parc 55 San Francisco properties and expects to remove them from its portfolio, citing several "major challenges" in the California city.

A sign on the exterior of the Hilton San Francisco Union Square on Tuesday. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) Ticker Security Last Change Change % PK PARK HOTELS & RESORTS INC. 14.36 +0.21 +1.52%

"This past week we made the very difficult, but necessary decision to stop debt service payments on our San Francisco CMBS loan," Park Hotels CEO Thomas J. Baltimore Jr. said in a statement. "After much thought and consideration, we believe it is in the best interest for Park’s stockholders to materially reduce our current exposure to the San Francisco market."

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE CRASH STILL LOOMING OVER US ECONOMY

"Now more than ever, we believe San Francisco’s path to recovery remains clouded and elongated by major challenges — both old and new: record high office vacancy; concerns over street conditions; lower return to office than peer cities; and a weaker than expected citywide convention calendar through 2027 that will negatively impact business and leisure demand and will likely significantly reduce compression in the city for the foreseeable future," Baltimore said.

A view of the Parc 55 by Hilton Hotel in San Francisco on Tuesday. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

In its June investor presentation, Park Hotels cited "on-going concerns over safety and security" as part of its rationale for giving up on the two prominent San Francisco hotels, and said the move would save $30 million a year in interest payments and some $200 million in maintenance expenses over the next five years.

BUSINESS OWNER ABANDONS ‘LAWLESS’ SAN FRANCISCO, CALLS OUT ‘HORRIFIC’ CITY LEADERSHIP: ‘WE’RE FED UP'

All told, Park operates 46 hotels and resorts mostly located in city centers and resort locations, including the New York Hilton Midtown, the Hyatt Regency in Boston, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort in Honolulu and the Orlando Waldorf Astoria in Orlando, Florida.

Homeless people gather in an encampment in the Tenderloin district of downtown San Francisco on Feb. 24, 2022. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via / Getty Images)

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Park's departure comes amid a growing exodus of retailers fleeing downtown San Francisco for various reasons as the city continues to struggle with retail theft, homelessness and a raging drug crisis.

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Eye-scanning crypto projects pose national security risks, China warns

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Eye-scanning crypto projects pose national security risks, China warns

Eye-scanning crypto projects pose national security risks, China warns

China’s security agency warned that biometric data collection by crypto firms, including iris scans, may endanger personal privacy and be exploited for espionage.

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Backlash as ex-SEC chief of staff links liquid staking to Lehman Brothers

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Backlash as ex-SEC chief of staff links liquid staking to Lehman Brothers

Backlash as ex-SEC chief of staff links liquid staking to Lehman Brothers

Former SEC chief of staff Amanda Fischer slammed the latest SEC guidance on liquid staking, sparking a sharp backlash on social media.

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Gurriel makes history with HR off 103.9 mph pitch

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Gurriel makes history with HR off 103.9 mph pitch

PHOENIX — San Diego Padres reliever Mason Miller was bringing the heat on Tuesday night.

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. returned the favor.

Gurriel crushed a 103.9 mph fastball from Miller into the left-field seats for a two-run homer in the eighth inning, tying the game at 5-all. It was the hardest hit pitch for a homer since MLB started pitch tracking in 2008.

It was part of a two-homer night for Gurriel. The veteran also hit a two-run shot in the first inning.

The hard-throwing Miller was acquired from the Athletics at last week’s trade deadline. He routinely throws over 100 mph and hit 104.2 mph with his hardest pitch on Tuesday night.

Luis Arráez hit a go-ahead single in the 11th inning and the Padres tacked on four more runs to beat the Diamondbacks 10-5.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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