In 2014, the stability of the establishment was put into question when Kilroy Realty Corporation bought the Flower Mart altogether. Plans to tear down the marketplace and erect high-rise tech buildings in its place became evident, prompting local suppliers and florists to fear for their place amidst all the changes. Kilroy then assured tenants their mart would continue to exist in the basement of the soon-to-be-built structure. Forced to relocate either way, the market has since been moved to the Bayview District in the interim. Just four years since this upheaval, however, Kilroy has now decided the mart is to be moved once more, this time to the Piers 19, 19 ½, and 23. Tenants and florists in general have voiced the seemingly unworkable qualities of the new location through a petition on change.org, now totaling nearly 14,000 signatures. Relocated and essentially displaced multiple times in less than five years, the Flower Mart’s tenants and customers alike worry for the establishment’s place in the ever-changing plans of Kilroy’s new building project. The petition explains florists’ fears that the Flower Mart will receive no protection from Kilroy or the City of San Francisco, and ultimately buckle under the pressure of corporate developers.
Do what you will with the facts, but we’ve got words for you, San Francisco: surely a city’s future lies in its progress, but its character is deeply rooted in its past. Let’s not allow a longstanding pillar of authentic SF to wilt away.
// Thoughts on the fate of the Flower Mart? Let us know! Photo by the Well Traveled Wife.
