The population rebound reflects an economic turnaround in San Francisco driven by its status as the leading global hub for generative artificial intelligence. This hub is drawing hundreds of AI entrepreneurs from all over the world, and according to Cushman & Wakefield data, there are now 466 generative AI companies based in San Francisco.

Mayor Daniel Lurie has made building new housing a top priority for his administration, releasing a sweeping rezoning plan to allow taller buildings along transit routes from the Marina to the Sunset and Richmond districts.

Lurie estimates the plan, which he calls “family zoning” instead of upzoning, will accommodate 36,000 housing units and reshape parts of the city that have seen little construction in the past 50 years.

The plan would allow 65-foot-tall buildings on east-west commercial corridors, including California, Clement and Balboa streets, increasing to 85 feet on Geary, Taraval, Judah and a portion of Noriega Street. The Marina and Cow Hollow areas of the city could become much denser, with six-story buildings along Chestnut Street and eight-story buildings on Lombard Street.

Under Lurie’s plan, Fisherman’s Wharf could become a mixed-use neighborhood with families living in new six- and eight-story buildings along portions of North Point, Bay and Beach streets.

The commercial area around downtown West Portal would allow eight-story apartment complexes, while two lots next to the Glen Park BART station could be rezoned for 140-foot towers. The proposed rezoning also would allow 350-foot towers on Van Ness Avenue between City Hall and Broadway.

“For too long San Francisco has treated new housing as something to be feared instead of something to be welcomed. For years we’ve made it easier to block new homes than to build them even as the cost of living soared and more people were pushed out,” Lurie told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Lurie’s plan must be approved by January of next year to keep San Francisco on track to meet its state-mandated housing goal, which requires the city to plan for 36,000 new units by 2031.

The plan got a mixed reception at its first public hearing earlier this month, a seven-hour meeting of the city planning commission. Older homeowners who bought their properties decades ago came out in opposition, comparing the proposed rezoning to redevelopment efforts that wiped out historic neighborhoods in the Western Addition and Japantown, the Chronicle reported.

Younger residents who are renters said the rezoning would create enough new housing to allow them to stay and raise families in the city.

The generative AI boom is driving a revival of co-living spaces and 100-square-foot rentals with shared kitchens and bathrooms that are being offered for $1000 per month. The pandemic nearly crushed what had been a growing co-living industry of “tech dorms” in San Francisco.

Several international companies are planning to launch co-living services in the city. San Francisco-based Urbanest currently has a portfolio encompassing 440 rooms in several SoMa buildings, catering to a tight-knit community of young entrepreneurs.

South Africa-based Neighbourgood has opened three co-living buildings, encompassing 53 rooms. The company is planning to undertake a rapid expansion in San Francisco, aiming for 1,000 rooms in the next 24 to 38 months and 2,500 in five years.

Barcelona-based Enso Co-Living, which operates 690 rooms in Spain and Mexico, is planning to open co-living locations in San Francisco by the end of the year.