Honestly? They're probably right.

Let's be real about what Embarcadero Plaza is today: a brutalist concrete slab that serves mainly as a throughway for commuters speed-walking to the Ferry Building. For a city that sits on one of the most stunning waterfronts in the world, it's an embarrassment. If private money wants to turn it into something people actually want to spend time in, the knee-jerk reaction shouldn't be suspicion — it should be cautious optimism.

The cautious part matters, though. When billionaires fund public space redesigns, the question is always: redesigned for whom? There's a difference between creating a vibrant civic commons and building an outdoor luxury lounge that just happens to sit on public land. San Franciscans have seen enough "improvements" that quietly push out street vendors, buskers, and anyone who doesn't look like they belong in a Patagonia catalog.

As one SF resident put it, the real test is whether the finished product serves the city or just serves the donors' vision of what the city should look like.

That said, here's the uncomfortable fiscal reality: San Francisco's city government burns through a $14 billion annual budget and still can't keep its public spaces functional. If private donors want to fund infrastructure improvements that the city demonstrably cannot or will not prioritize, rejecting that out of ideological purity is a luxury we can't afford.

The right move is transparency. Who's funding this? What do they get in return? What does the public get? If those answers check out, let them build. San Francisco's waterfront deserves better than what decades of city management have delivered.