The Evolution of a San Francisco Retail Hub
When I was a kid visiting my grandpa and great aunts nearby, Stonestown was known as Stonestown Galleria—a quiet, marble-clad, skylight-lit temple to shopping. The kind of place where stores were still called shoppes, giving them a boutique feel. Brentano’s had a bookshop here (remember those?), and Sweet Factory had scoops for candy—confections so fine they had to be weighed to be priced.
Delving Into District 3
How far it has come.
By the 2000s, Stonestown was a bustling, classic shopping mall—packed with shoppers heading to Gap, Banana Republic, Macy’s, and Nordstrom. There was a Borders for San Francisco State students and high schoolers stressing over college applications. The place was alive.
Then came the decline of brick-and-mortar retail, followed by the pandemic’s eerie emptiness. At its lowest point, you could walk through the entire mall and hardly see a soul—except for the food court and the Apple Store, which somehow held on.
Stonestown Today: A New Kind of Retail Hub
Fast forward to 2024, and Stonestown has transformed yet again, this time into a different kind of retail destination. It’s now anchored by big-box stores rarely seen in San Francisco:
• A massive Target has taken over the former Nordstrom and Borders spaces.
• A subterranean Trader Joe’s does brisk business, fueling a chaotic parking lot packed with Teslas, Priuses, and people.
• On the other side, Whole Foods and a new theater have replaced the long-gone Macy’s.
• Shake Shack is there, too—because, of course, it is.
Despite the changes, Stonestown still benefits from a captive audience: thousands of SF State students, Lowell High School’s top-ranked students, kids from St. Ignatius, and countless San Francisco families stocking up on Trader Joe’s Os and Two Buck Chuck.
Stonestown’s Suburban Vibe in San Francisco
One of the biggest draws of Stonestown today is that it caters to daily essentials rather than conspicuous consumption. That makes it a key retail hub for western and central San Francisco—a place where locals actually shop, rather than a tourist destination.
It’s also the most suburban part of San Francisco while still being in San Francisco proper. If it weren’t for the fog, you could almost mistake it for Southern California—wide streets, big parking lots, and houses with driveways.
Housing Near Stonestown
Most of the housing near Stonestown is dominated by SF State students, especially in Park Merced, the largest mid- and high-rise rental complex in the area. Park Merced is in the middle of a massive, decades-long redevelopment plan, with thousands of new rental units planned over the next 10–20 years.
One of the only for-sale housing options nearby is 800 Summit, a collection of 182 townhomes off Brotherhood Way near Lake Merced. These 2014-era homes were built on previously vacant land, complete with a sales center, model homes, and modern design finishes. Each of these zero-lot-line homes came with garage parking—making them more suburban in feel than typical San Francisco housing.
The Challenge: Construction Defects at 800 Summit
As of 2024, however, the HOA and homeowners at 800 Summit are navigating construction defect claims—primarily related to water intrusion and improper waterproofing (because, of course, it’s always water issues). This is common in large-scale new construction, especially in developments built quickly to meet demand.
Under California’s SB 800 (the state’s 10-year warranty period for new housing), the developer is responsible for certain defects. But in practice, these disputes often go to litigation or arbitration, which can take years to resolve. Until the claims are settled and repairs are made, financing options are limited—only a handful of lenders will touch a property with active defect litigation, and even fewer if a lawsuit has been formally filed.
For now, this means that sales at 800 Summit are sluggish, and prices are lower than they would be otherwise. But history tells us that once the issues are resolved and repairs are completed, sales will pick up again, and values will rebound within a few years as normal market turnover resumes.
The Future of Stonestown
Stonestown has evolved from a high-end shopping galleria to a bustling mall, to a near-abandoned retail husk, and now into a big-box destination that serves daily needs. The area has steady demand, thanks to SF State, local families, and its suburban convenience. While 800 Summit navigates its construction woes, the broader neighborhood remains an attractive option for those looking for a house-like experience without the condo lifestyle—just with a bit more fog.