Plan for new Transbay Terminal in, under budget
April 22nd, 2010 Filed Under Development Updates, Financial District, Zoning & City Hall Issues
San Francisco Chronicle
By John King
April 22nd, 2010
The iconic tower intended to come first is nowhere in sight, but San Francisco’s new Transbay Terminal is ready to go.
There are still plans for a 5.4-acre park that will rest atop three levels of shops and bus platforms, 70 feet in the air. The architecture retains the glassy futurism of the concept selected with fanfare in 2007.
Now, after two years of tweaking, the completed terminal design will be presented today to the Transbay Joint Powers Authority. Officials say the first stage of construction - demolition of the existing terminal at First and Mission streets - should begin in August or September.
Under this scenario, the $1.189 billion terminal would open for bus service by 2017. An additional $400 million will be spent to build a shell beneath ground that will eventually house a train platform and concourse. [More...]
Deloitte nears big lease in San Francisco
April 9th, 2010 Filed Under Development Updates, Financial District, South of Market, Tenant Activity
San Francisco Business Times
By J.K. Dineen
April 9th, 2010
Consulting giant Deloitte & Touche has signed a preliminary agreement to lease 180,000 square feet at Tishman Speyer’s 555 Mission St., a deal that would fill up most of the remaining empty space in San Francisco’s newest office tower.
Under the 15-year agreement Deloitte would occupy 10 floors throughout the middle and upper levels of the building. Landlord Tishman Speyer would pony up most of a $12 million cash “kill fee” Deloitte must pay to terminate its existing lease [More...]
S.F. investor Sierra Maestra pays $4.3M for 153 Kearny
March 26th, 2010 Filed Under Development Updates, Financial District, Midmarket/ City Hall, Tenant Activity
The San Francisco Business Times
By J.K. Dineen
March 26th, 2010
The price Sierra Maesta Properties paid for the Class B building was not disclosed, but sources familiar with the transaction put it at about $4.3 million, a rock-bottom price of $80 a square foot. The seller was Amalgamated Bank, which foreclosed on the property. The prior owner was Ray Tonsing, who spent three years entitling the building for downtown lofts. He subsequently had a change of heart and unsuccessfully attempted to unload it as an office building for $18.5 million in 2007 when that market was peaking. [More...]
Citigroup Center going back to lender
March 5th, 2010 Filed Under Development Updates, Financial District, Zoning & City Hall Issues
The San Francisco Business Times
By J.K. Dineen
March 5th, 2010
In late March, Prudential will take title to the 550,000-square-foot tower, called the Citigroup Center, and has brought on the Barker Pacific Group to manage the property, according to multiple sources familiar with the transaction.
The deal comes on the heels of Morgan Stanley’s decision to transfer five office buildings to AREA Property Partners and Hines’ calculated move to default on 333 Bush St., which paved the way for Brookfield Real Estate Finance to take ownership. In recent months, nine downtown San Francisco office properties, totaling more than [More...]
Morris, Polich & Purdy Leases 20,178 SF
January 27th, 2010 Filed Under Financial District, Tenant Activity
The CoStar Group
By Lauren Greenwald
January 27th, 2010
[More...]
Benefit Cosmetics Takes 52,580 SF
January 27th, 2010 Filed Under Financial District, Tenant Activity
The Costar Group
By Ryan Munneke
January 27th, 2010
Benefit Cosmetics signed a 10-year lease for 52,580 square feet at 225 Bush St. in San Francisco.
The company will take the top three floors of the building in July. The building is the former Standard Oil headquarters from 1928 to the early 1970s.
Shap Roeder and Jak Churton of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant. Karen Wells and Wes Powell of Jones Lang LaSalle of San Francisco represented the landlord, SEB Immobilien-Investment Group GMBH.
Pyramid’s steep path from civic eyesore to icon
December 27th, 2009 Filed Under Development Updates, Financial District, Zoning & City Hall Issues
The San Francisco Chronicle
By John King
December 27th, 2009
The Transamerica Pyramid is San Francisco’s tallest and best-known tower. It’s a registered corporate trademark, a fixture on postcards - and proof that snap judgments on buildings can often be wrong.
Construction began 40 years ago this month over the loud objection of anyone who was anyone in urban design. The city’s top planner called the proposal “an inhumane creation.” The Washington Post’s critic recoiled at “a second-class world’s fair Space Needle.” Progressive Architecture magazine warned the impact on San Francisco would be “no less reprehensible than … destroying Grand Canyon.”
Instead, the 853-foot-tall tower that opened in 1972 has become a civic icon. [More...]
S.F. real estate story line: Flight to quality
December 18th, 2009 Filed Under Development Updates, Financial District, Tenant Activity, Zoning & City Hall Issues
The San Francisco Business Times
By J.K. Dineen
December 18th, 2009
San Francisco office tenants are increasingly gravitating to downtown’s most prestigious trophy towers, taking advantage of desperate landlords to lock in cheap rents, according to a study by Jones Lang LaSalle.
While overall San Francisco tenants gave up 1.3 million square feet more than they leased in 2009, the city’s 49 most prominent buildings — JLL calls them the Skyline 49 — actually had about 100,000 square feet of positive absorption over the past two quarters. [More...]
Morgan Stanley to give back San Francisco buildings
December 11th, 2009 Filed Under Development Updates, Financial District
The San Francisco Business Times
By J.K. Dineen
December 11th, 2009
Morgan Stanley Real Estate, one of San Francisco’s largest office landlords, plans to give back to its lender five downtown office buildings acquired in 2007 at the apex of the boom.
The properties were part of Morgan Stanley’s $2.43 billion portfolio purchase from the Blackstone Group, the largest real estate transaction in San Francisco history.
The properties will be given to the property arm of New York private equity firm Apollo Global Management in a consensual transfer, a complex transaction that has been nearly a year in the making. [More...]
Brookfield Properties forecloses on 333 Bush in S.F.
December 11th, 2009 Filed Under Financial District, Tenant Activity
The San Francisco Business Times
By J.K. Dineen
December 11th, 2009
Brookfield Properties has foreclosed on 333 Bush St. and the cash-rich Toronto-based real estate investment trust is positioning itself to scoop up more distressed office towers over the next year.
Brookfield took ownership of the 543,000-square-foot office building Dec. 3 after a trustee sale on San Francisco City Hall’s back steps failed to produce any bidders. A Brookfield subsidiary held a junior piece of a $224 million loan on the property; Hypo Bankheld the senior piece of the debt. Brookfield Senior Vice President Bert Dezzutti, who oversees California for the company, said Brookfield has opened an office in San Francisco and is ramping up property management operations.
“It’s not how we envisioned we would enter the market, but we are comfortable with it,” said Dezzutti. “It will be for us a launching pad for a greater presence. Now with 333 Bush St. we will have a beachhead that will allow us to explore other opportunities. Our intention is to grow here, not to have a one-off building.” [More...]
