Metreon & Anti-Gay Target

The Metreon has always felt to me like a beloved child that you know can do better but just isn’t trying very hard. Located in what was once South of Market but is know called Yerba Buena on a real estate MLS neighborhood map the mall was built by Sony and has never quite lived up to its potential. It has been home to numerous cool and interesting stores and entertainment venues over the years, most of which have failed a painful and slow death.

The Westfield group acquired the venue several years ago, and as part of their effort to revitalize the space, they wooed Target stores to open the first Target within San Francisco city limits in the painfully vacant Metreon.

The Metreon, Someday Maybe. Image Source: Westfield website

While all of this was going down, Target also got a lot of (justifiably so, IMHO) criticism for their financial support of politicians with horrible track records on support for equal GLBT rights.

While I’d certainly like to see the Metreon revitalized, I’d prefer it be with a company that supports San Francisco values like equality, fairness, and equal treatment for all persons, particularly those of the LGBT variety.

Our current Mayor, Mr. Ed Lee, has been rather quiet on all of this. He recently requested a meeting with the corporate behemoth to discuss where things stand. I imagine that the retailer will be somewhat responsive to his request for a meeting since they are hoping to open a larger location at an empty shopping venue located at the corner of Geary and Masonic.

Whether or not anything substantial will come of the meetings is an open question, but my hat is off to Mayor Lee for continuing to push Target to be accountable for their support of homophobic and hateful politicians.