A South San Francisco initiative that provides support and connects small businesses with vacant, city-owned parcels has secured its first tenant, however, the city has scaled back on two other properties it was going to include as part of the program.
The pilot program, called Launch Local, was approved in March and offers short-term leases on some of its city-owned storefront properties, as well as up to $10,000 in tenant improvements, as part of a pilot program aimed at reducing commercial vacancy rates and boosting small business support.
The program would cater to local stores that want to transition to a permanent brick-and-mortar location but are hesitant to take on the financial risk that generally comes with long lease terms and expensive tenant improvement work.
Other cities in the region have taken on similar initiatives meant to reinvigorate their downtowns and other corridors with a strong economic presence, such as San Francisco, Santa Cruz and San Jose. Last year’s fourth quarter saw a citywide vacancy rate of 8.6%.
The bicycle shop Six Bicycles will be the first tenant as part of the program, signing a lease at the city-owned storefront at 634 El Camino Real, with a grand opening expected in spring 2026.
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Councilmember Mark Nagales said the city continues working toward improving bike lanes throughout the city, and the Six Bicycles business will complement the efforts well.
“I’m excited about this because we’ve been building the infrastructure in South San Francisco,” Nagales said. “People are glad that we’re doing it, and we’ll continue building the infrastructure, but what we were missing is that local bike shop.”
As part of a countywide Grand Boulevard Initiative — which will make upgrades along El Camino Real — the City Council also contemplated converting one street of El Camino Real in South City to bike lanes.
The city also owns 244 and 246 Grand Ave., which were initially identified as potential Launch Local candidate sites, but the city saw strong private market interest and “removed these spaces from the Launch Local inventory to pursue market-rate leasing opportunities,” according to a staff report.
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