The San Francisco Centre mall has lost nearly $1 billion in value in recent years, and its long-awaited auction has once again been delayed.

The Shoe Wiz is one of the last remaining stores at the San Francisco Centre mall. 

"I'm supposed to be closed by now, but I'm hanging here to see what happens," said owner Sam Arguetta.  

The 66-year-old took over the business about a decade ago when it was thriving. His team of four cobblers would mend and repair countless boots, heels, and dress shoes. Today, he works by himself. 

"Just making little money to stay afloat. That's it. Nothing else," said Arguetta. 

As stores continue to shutter throughout the mall one by one, the number of customers also drops. 

"Every year and every day, it's going down and down," said Arguetta. 

How to reinvent and transform the massive 1.5 million square feet of mall space is up in the air. Design teams and business leaders have floated ideas for years, including building a soccer stadium at the site. 

Billy Riggs is a professor at USF School of Management who has given presentations about urban planning and downtown regeneration in retail. 

"We've seen a trend in retail, and companies are a little flat-footed right now. I think it's an opportunity. It's really an opportunity for cities to innovate," said Riggs. 

Riggs believes interactive pop-up shops, AI-driven retail, and mixed-use urban hubs with residential, coworking, and market spaces are some strategies that have the potential to change the downtown landscape. 

"Rather than actually wait for something to happen, just allow people to move in and start activating the space. Create rules and allow the community to begin using it. Part of this is having a willing partner in the real estate owner," said Riggs. 

Multiple companies are managing the pending sale, which has been pushed back numerous times. 

Meanwhile, inside Shoe Wiz, time slowly ticks away.  Arguetta holds onto the hope that a change in ownership will lead to some financial help. 

"Maybe they can help us to move out and move to some other place in downtown San Francisco. That's the idea," said Arguetta. 

He understands the end of the road is near. He just doesn't know where to go from here.

The auction was scheduled for Aug. 21, but another delay, the seventh so far, pushed the date back to Sept. 4, according to the First American Title's website, one of the companies managing the sale.