After arts festival, San Francisco's Mid-Market businesses look for signs of a turnaround

A new $500,000 investment aims to jump-start San Francisco’s Mid-Market corridor by leaning on arts and entertainment after last weekend’s Market Street Arts and Theater Festival. The area has struggled with vacant storefronts and a slow downtown recovery following years of disinvestment and the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival brought live music, dancing, and public art, serving as the initiative’s first major test event. Downtown Development Corporation and Proper Hotel Group are backing the plan, funding performances, improved lighting, and activations in empty spaces over the next year, initially along Market Street between Fifth and Sixth. Owners are watching for sustained foot traffic.