Iconic San Francisco Flower Mart staying in SF

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The California Flower Market in San Francisco's SOMA district will be preserved and upgraded.

That announcement came on Wednesday from the San Francisco Flower Growers Association.

Wholesalers, distributors and the flower loving public had concerns that Kilroy Realty would buy the building and turn the space into tech and residential rentals.

But the market is staying. It signed a 25-year lease with Kilroy, which has agreed to update the facilities to help maintain the flowers at a higher level and sell at a better quality.

"The main driving force behind this, is for us to provide the City of San Francisco, the citizens of San Francisco, a state of the art flower facility that will move into the 21st century," explained Bob Otsuka, the vice president of the Growers Association.

On-site vendors could be temporarily moved within the block during construction.