Fifty San Francisco groups are receiving a total of $2 million in grants to boost the city’s shopping districts with events and street improvements like lights and public art.
The money comes from tech billionaire Chris Larsen, who previously gave $1.7 million through his nonprofit Avenue Greenlight to aid the city’s pandemic recovery.
The funding comes at a critical time for the city, as tourism is expected to rebound globally this summer as the pandemic eases, but after remote work and a slew of retail closures have battered downtown.
Chris Larsen, business executive and co-founder of the company Ripple Labs, Inc., is providing San Francisco groups with money to help spur the city’s shopping districts.
Jana Asenbrennerova/Special to The ChronicleGrants range between $5,000 and $50,000 and many went to local neighborhood merchants associations, which are organizing events such as art walks in the Outer Richmond and the Castro, the Fillmore Jazz Festival and concerts in Dogpatch.
Funding will also help replace the Castro’s iconic rainbow flag. A previous grant funded a replacement of the prominent crab sign in Fisherman’s Wharf.
The majority of funds will go to residential neighborhoods, but some are targeting downtown and nearby areas, which have struggled with dwindling foot traffic and safety concerns.
Street lights will be installed in Jackson Square, on Grove Street near Civic Center and on Jessie Street next to Sixth Street, all in hopes of making the three areas feel safer for nighttime pedestrians.
The Mid Market Community Benefit District will host an art walk in September or October on Market Street between Fifth and Eighth streets, an area full of empty retail spaces. Stores will display photography, paintings and sculptures during the event.
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, a nonprofit that advises marginalized people on how to form their own businesses, also received funding for murals around Fifth Street in South of Market.
Larsen previously told The Chronicle that the program seeks to fund hyperlocal efforts with quick turnaround times.
“We’ve really been taken by how efficiently these merchant associations have gotten the biggest bang for the buck,” he said in March.
The San Francisco native co-founded early financial tech company E-Loan in 1996 as well as blockchain-based payments firm Ripple.
Larsen has also funded more than 1,000 private security cameras in the city to bolster public safety and donated $25 million to his alma mater San Francisco State University.
Reach Roland Li: roland.li@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @rolandlisf
