SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mayor London Breed says a $550 million expansion of San Francisco’s convention center will better meet the needs of tourism as the city battles entrenched problems of homelessness and drug addiction.
Breed and other civic leaders toasted on Thursday the expansion of Moscone Center, which opened in 1981.
The building is environmentally friendly with solar paneling and recovered water for landscaping and street cleaning. Officials showed off new terraces with breathtaking views and above-ground pedestrian bridges that connect its north and south sides.
Breed says she is aware that the city’s livability issues deeply affect tourism, and said the expansion is an eye to the future.
The convention center is in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, a challenging part of the city riddled with used needles and other trash.
