Features

SAN FRANCISCO — The Mexican Consulate hopes to serve its visitors better from their new quarters in the South of Market starting October. 

The new building, located at 532 Folsom Street, just four blocks away from the Montgomery St. Bay Area Rapid Transit station is four times as big as the space the consulate occupies in the Flood Building on Market St., said spokesman Bernardo Mendez. The consulate will lease the new building and may eventually buy it. 

“Many former consuls wished for this move but due to budget restrictions in Mexico it was not possible,” Mendez said. “It is a historical moment since we have occupied the Flood Building for 50 years.” 

Eighty percent of the consulate’s 300 daily visitors go in search of a Mexican government-issued ID card or a passport, said Mendez. The consulate hopes that with more space, the lines formed by visitors will be minimal. Several business near the Flood Building complained that the lengthy lines were negatively affecting their sales. 

The Flood Building, located near busy Union Square, holds a total of nine foreign consulates.