After abandoning San Francisco in a dramatic 2023 exit, Nordstrom is likely returning to the city — albeit in a drastically scaled-back form.
The company received approval Thursday at a Planning Commission meeting to open a Nordstrom Local hub at 1919 Fillmore St. in Pacific Heights. The concept store won’t offer traditional inventory but will give shoppers a place to pick up and try on online orders, make returns, or get clothing alterations.
The proposal required a green light by the commission because of San Francisco’s “formula retail” rules, which are aimed at stopping chain stores from dominating retail corridors. Critics have argued that the regulation can end up hurting the local businesses it’s meant to help, because it also limits homegrown companies (like burrito joint El Farolito) that expand to more than 11 locations. More recently, the rules have been blamed for hampering the city’s economic recovery at a time when it’s struggling to fill vacancies and shore up its budget.
The 1,750-square-foot space where the Nordstrom Local plans to open has been empty since the stationery store Minted closed early in the pandemic, aside from a temporary retail tenant last year.
Since Nordstrom’s plan was announced late last year, some members of the local community have expressed opposition. In letters and at community meetings ahead of the commission vote, neighbors complained that the Nordstrom could increase the rate of double-parking and worsen traffic. Others said the landlord should prioritize a local retailer for the space, and some argued that since Nordstrom Local will be a hub for pick-ups and returns, it won’t meaningfully attract foot traffic to nearby stores.
“While I absolutely agree it should be the priority of the city to fill vacant storefronts, proposed uses should be compatible with the neighborhood and the location, and this proposed project is neither,” Bridget Maley, who lives in the area, said at the Planning Commission meeting.
“I can understand that the landlord would like to go with Nordstrom, because I’m sure they’re the highest bidder,” said fellow resident Mary King. “But it’s really not benefiting our Fillmore community at all to have Nordstrom there.”
The debate about Fillmore Street’s retail make-up follows a controversy that arose last year when it emerged that a venture capitalist-funded firm had bought up several commercial properties in the neighborhood, displacing longtime tenants.
Two Nordstrom representatives said the company is in talks with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to offer validated parking passes at local garages and don’t foresee delivery trucks clogging up Fillmore Street.
The five commissioners who approved the plan suggested that SFMTA could tackle traffic congestion issues with more frequent enforcement. Two commission members voted against the proposal.
“I want to make sure that we send a message to businesses that San Francisco is welcoming you back,” said commission president Lydia So. “We’re welcoming Nordstrom back, and we’re welcoming whoever else wants to come back — or those who never considered coming here because things are hard.”
There have been several recent efforts to loosen San Francisco’s rules around formula retail.
A company typically has to spend tens of thousands of dollars and wait many months for conditional-use authorization to open a chain store in restricted areas, according to a recent study by Maven Commercial. (Notably, Maven is the leasing agent for the 1919 Fillmore St. space.)
This spring, Mayor Daniel Lurie signed legislation to make it easier for chain stores to open on a stretch of Van Ness Avenue, which has been hit hard by closures in recent years. Meanwhile, Supervisor Myrna Melgar is drafting legislation to allow chain stores to fill empty storefronts left by departed chain stores without special permitting.
Lurie has also committed to generally reforming the city’s onerous permitting system in order to speed up the process. Since Nordstrom closed its downtown flagship and a Nordstrom Rack in 2023, a slew of other big-box retailers in the area, including Saks and Bloomingdale’s, have shuttered.
“Unfortunately, the retail economy is changing a lot, and it’s changing how we shop these days,” Commissioner Theresa Imperial said at the meeting. “We as a city need to understand how to adapt to these changes and prepare for that.”