Cinemark Holdings, Inc. is shuttering its downtown San Francisco theater, becoming the latest major firm to high-tail it out of the troubled California city.
“Cinemark can confirm it has decided to permanently close the Century San Francisco Centre 9 and XD theater shortly before the conclusion of its lease term following a comprehensive review of local business conditions,” a spokesperson for the company told FOX Business in a statement.
The theater is located in the Westfield San Francisco Centre, whose owner, shopping center giant Westfield, announced Monday it would be handing the property back to a bank due to “the challenging operating conditions in downtown San Francisco.”
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The mall remains operational amid the search for a new buyer, but Westfield said prior to Cinemark’s announcement the property would only be 55% leased when Nordstrom packs up from the location at the end of August as part of the high-end retailer’s recent decision to close both its downtown San Francisco locations due to the “dynamics” of the area.
Westfield’s other properties are 93% leased, on average.
Westfield’s decision came days after major hotelier Park Hotels & Resorts announced it had stopped making payments on a $725 million loan for its Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55 San Francisco properties, pointing to several “major challenges” in the city.
The stream of departures come 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.
Following Westfield’s announcement, San Francisco Republican Party Chairman John Dennis blamed progressive policies for running businesses out of town, telling FOX Business San Francisco is “the worst managed city in America.”
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But California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna told FOX Business’ “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” Tuesday that despite crime problems the claims of a “mass exodus” of businesses from San Francisco are not true, and the major tech hub is thriving.