Tech bust continues to affect San Francisco

In her useful "Surreal Estate" column, Carol Lloyd studies the evolution and devolution of a single piece of commercial real estate in the temporarily-hot Mission District. During the dotcom boom, threadbare arts groups who had occupied former industrial spaces were getting kicked out left and right, to be replaced by tech startups. When the bust occured in 2000 and 2001, suddenly there was a huge amount of vacant space. At the same time, plans for new offices were revamped.

Larry Badiner, acting director for the S.F. Planning Department, says that with a few rare exceptions in which tenants are already committed, all the unbuilt office projects he knows of in San Francisco have been reconceived as housing. "If someone has a permit for office space, chances are they are trying to figure out how to change it," he says.

And in the NYT, middle-aged programmers bemoan their long period of disuse as economists argue over the effects of offshoring and outsourcing.

Last night I had dinner at a restaurant near my old workplace. It was the first warm night of the year, and along Belden Street (see the 4th image on this page) the outdoor tables were packed. I used to eat there with co-workers once in a while when we wanted to splurge. From my seat I could easily see the wonderful deco Russ Building where our offices were.

I got laid off from my last tech job in October 2002 -- which is 12 to 18 months later than a lot of people. I was really grateful that Cris and I both continued to hold onto our tech jobs through the beginning -- dare I say the first half -- of the downturn. And I'm grateful today for my part-time job that nets $1350 a month. That's our mortgage right there.