The fate of the former Westfield San Francisco Center, now known as the Emporium Centre San Francisco, will be determined by an auction set for November 14. This comes at a turbulent time for shopping centers in downtown San Francisco. Reports indicate that the Metreon shopping center was officially listed for sale last week.

According to the San Francisco Business Times, the Emporium Centre is amidst a challenging period. Earlier this year, in June, the beleaguered shopping center announced that it had signed leases with seven new tenants. While these tenants may not include major anchor stores, they offered a glimmer of hope for the struggling mall. However, the internal turbulence hasn’t ceased; the San Francisco Chronicle reported that last month, the popular Japanese ramen chain, Ajisen Ramen, permanently closed its doors.

The upcoming auction for the Emporium Centre follows a decision by owners Brookfield Properties and Westfield in 2023 to abandon their debt repayment, citing “challenging operating conditions in downtown San Francisco.” This situation worsened after Nordstrom, a major tenant that once occupied nearly half of the shopping center’s space, vacated. Following their departure, other notable retailers like Banana Republic, American Eagle, and Cinemark also closed.

Originally, Brookfield Properties and Westfield had an outstanding loan of $558 million supported by the shopping center, which has ballooned to approximately $626 million by October 2023 due to missed payments and penalties. Lenders Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan Chase have initiated foreclosure proceedings. Since last fall, the shopping center has been under the control of Trident Pacific, a firm that specializes in managing distressed commercial real estate across the United States.

The auction for the Emporium Centre, which spans 1.4 million square feet of retail and office space, could lead to a new buyer. The proceeds from the auction will be used to offset the owners’ outstanding debt. However, if there are no bids from third parties, the lenders may opt to cancel the property’s redemption rights.

SFGATE attempted to reach out to a spokesperson for the Emporium Centre, but no response was received by the time of publication.