Mayor Ed Lee wants to keep Twitter in San Francisco. So why is he offering them office space in the worst part?
Ed Lee is expected to announce tax credits targeted specifically at companies like Twitter, according to the Gate. Twitter has expressed interest in moving out of the city, since it's prohibitively expensive to do business in San Francisco.
The only problem is that the tax incentives are centered in the Mid-Market area, a windswept no-mans-land with little on the street but pawn shops and people desperately in need of social services.
It's only a few blocks away from where a strongarm robbery was videotaped this weekend. Charming! Maybe after employees are mugged, they can use Twitter to file a police report.
The city is also trying to attract a hotel and the folks who run Burning Man to the area.
If the plan works, it could actually help turn the area around. Currently, much of the blight stems from empty buildings and a lack of pedestrian foot-traffic. If Twitter reaches projections that it will gain 2,000 employees over the next few years, the area around 9th could become something unrecognizable: safe.
