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People walk through a new pedestrian bridge during the Moscone Center expansion opening Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, in San Francisco. Completion of the $550 million expansion was celebrated by city officials, tourism industry leaders and neighborhood stakeholders. Mayor London Breed said that the downtown structure will better meet the needs of tourism even as the city struggles with homelessness. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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People listen to a number of speeches during the Moscone Center expansion opening Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, in San Francisco. Completion of the $550 million expansion was celebrated by city officials, tourism industry leaders and neighborhood stakeholders. Mayor London Breed said that the downtown structure will better meet the needs of tourism even as the city struggles with homelessness. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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People stand on a new pedestrian bridge above Howard Street during the Moscone Center expansion opening Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, in San Francisco. Completion of the $550 million expansion was celebrated by city officials, tourism industry leaders and neighborhood stakeholders. Mayor London Breed said that the downtown structure will better meet the needs of tourism even as the city struggles with homelessness. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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People stand on one of the new terraces and look out at the skyline during the Moscone Center expansion opening Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, in San Francisco. Completion of the $550 million expansion was celebrated by city officials, tourism industry leaders and neighborhood stakeholders. Mayor London Breed said that the downtown structure will better meet the needs of tourism even as the city struggles with homelessness. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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San Francisco Mayor London Breed reacts after cutting a large ribbon during the Moscone Center expansion opening Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, in San Francisco. Completion of the $550 million expansion was celebrated by city officials, tourism industry leaders and neighborhood stakeholders. Breed said that the downtown structure will better meet the needs of tourism even as the city struggles with homelessness. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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Two men walk through a hallway toward a new terrace during the Moscone Center expansion opening Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, in San Francisco. Completion of the $550 million expansion was celebrated by city officials, tourism industry leaders and neighborhood stakeholders. Mayor London Breed said that the downtown structure will better meet the needs of tourism even as the city struggles with homelessness. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

San Francisco toasts $550M convention center expansion

By Associated Press AP

PUBLISHED 2:24 PM ET May. 09, 2019

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mayor London Breed says a $550 million expansion of San Francisco's convention center will better meet the needs of tourism as the city battles entrenched problems of homelessness and drug addiction.

Breed and other civic leaders toasted on Thursday the expansion of Moscone Center, which opened in 1981.

The building is environmentally friendly with solar paneling and recovered water for landscaping and street cleaning. Officials showed off new terraces with breathtaking views and above-ground pedestrian bridges that connect its north and south sides.

Breed says she is aware that the city's livability issues deeply affect tourism, and said the expansion is an eye to the future.

The convention center is in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, a challenging part of the city riddled with used needles and other trash.