Part 5/9:
One of the most perplexing aspects of the vacancy tax is its exclusion of downtown areas, including Union Square, which currently suffers a higher vacancy rate than some neighborhood districts. Initially designed to target low-traffic commercial corridors, the tax did not account for the evolving landscape of downtown San Francisco, which is now experiencing significant challenges post-pandemic. There have been calls to introduce a separate vacancy tax for these areas, as the recovery of downtown continues to lag.