I am not american so I might be a bit unenlightened here.
But it sounds weird that San Francisco is running so bad and their put their faith in a "hero" dressed as an Swedish furniture store.
You're missing something lost in translation. It's not "all of San Fransisco" that is putting their faith in a "hero". It's a development.
In the US, it's common to have a major store people want to travel to (here IKEA, or a big Walmart, in the past it might have been Macy's) "anchor" a commercial development. A bunch of smaller ancillary stories and food places are built around the same parking area or indoor mall, in the theory that the foot traffic will drive business.
Also, a large, reliable renter makes the project financing smoother. There's (almost) no risk IKEA will stop paying for their space compared to "TigerTeamX's Emporium".
What the article is therefore claiming is that "if a giant commercial project with an IKEA fails, then no large commercial project is likely to be able to succeed".
In the US, it's common to have a major store people want to travel to (here IKEA, or a big Walmart, in the past it might have been Macy's) "anchor" a commercial development. A bunch of smaller ancillary stories and food places are built around the same parking area or indoor mall, in the theory that the foot traffic will drive business.
Also, a large, reliable renter makes the project financing smoother. There's (almost) no risk IKEA will stop paying for their space compared to "TigerTeamX's Emporium".
What the article is therefore claiming is that "if a giant commercial project with an IKEA fails, then no large commercial project is likely to be able to succeed".