I am, according to certain misleading reports, the mysterious evil investor buying property up and down Fillmore Street. These reports haven’t been very clear on the details of my sinister plan, but it sure does sound nefarious.
I want to set the record straight.
The reason I have backed a revitalization project in my community is that I want to play a small part in making my home city — the city I love — cleaner, safer, and more vibrant.
I was born a block from Fillmore Street. My brother and I used to ride our bikes up and down the street. My first memory of going to a movie was a screening at the Clay Theater well past my bedtime. Fillmore Street had such vitality back then. I could spend the whole day there and never run out of things to do. My wife and I are now raising our three daughters in the neighborhood.
The pandemic knocked San Francisco down. The city is still trying to get back up. Disastrous political experiments in public safety, public education, and overregulation haven’t helped. Dozens of my friends have left — restaurateurs, artists, musicians, and small-business owners — the sort of people who are the strongest threads in the fabric of a place like Fillmore Street.
The consequences aren’t abstract. I see them every time I walk down Fillmore with my daughters and spot more vacant buildings, boarded-up shops, and empty restaurants. This shouldn’t be happening on one of the most historic and lively streets in the most naturally beautiful city in America. It’s a preventable tragedy.
My actual plan — not the fictional one you might have heard about — is pretty straightforward.
I haven’t personally bought any properties on Fillmore Street. Rather, a revitalization fund run by my neighbor Cody Allen and his team have made the purchases. I’ve committed $100 million as the sole supporter of this project. Because I have donated my entire interest to a nonprofit, I have zero financial interest in these properties and will receive nothing in return. Even if buying and restoring these properties turns out to be the best investment in the history of San Francisco — and given that we’re buying buildings in desperate need of maintenance at record-high prices, that seems unlikely — I won’t see a penny of the profits. If there are profits, they’ll be reinvested in the community or used to support other charitable causes across the city.
We’re going to restore and revitalize these properties. We aim to bring in a rich diversity of local businesses, with a focus on food and beverage, that will delight the community and discourage the kinds of impersonal chain retailers that would make Fillmore look like anywhere else.
We’re going to achieve this by offering below-market leases to committed entrepreneurs who will reinvigorate Fillmore Street. And we’re going to help our tenants navigate the friction, complexity, and anxiety that have sadly become an inevitable part of running a business in San Francisco. We are thrilled to welcome these new tenants, but contrary to what has been reported, we haven’t evicted anyone or forced anyone out.
This real-life plan is the opposite of what I’ve been accused of. There is a reason for that. For a generation, our city has been under the influence of ideological extremists in City Hall who wave their arms, point their fingers, and ignore the truth in order to demonize anyone trying to improve the city. Everything is staged as a battle.
In our case, Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin recently held a rally on Fillmore Street and announced he would propose legislation to implement citywide zoning controls. Unfortunately, Peskin doesn’t even have his facts straight about which buildings we have bought. Of course, his ignorance on this matter is understandable; he has never spoken to anyone involved in our revitalization work, and his office has made no attempt to contact us.
If he had talked to me, he would have learned he is completely wrong. Far from trying to take over the neighborhood, I’m just trying to make it better for everyone who lives here. I’m a San Franciscan who believes that the city has given me more than I could ever give back to it, and that I should do what I can to try and make it a more even trade.
Cody and I have been encouraged by the outpouring of support we’ve gotten so far. For anyone interested in learning more, looking to join our efforts, or with ideas for what we could be doing better, please reach out to cody@upperfillmore.org.
I hope you don’t blindly listen to agitators who willfully ignore the facts to stoke and capitalize on misguided outrage. They have an agenda. Instead, I hope you take a walk down Fillmore. Come see the tremendous potential we’re trying to unlock for the lasting good of this great place. Despite the fog, the sun is shining.
Neil Mehta is the founder of investment firm Greenoaks and a San Francisco native.