SAN FRANCISCO—Local industry sources tell GlobeSt.com that GE Capital Real Estate in a joint venture with Langley Investment Properties is selling its 405 Howard St. here in San Francisco to a JV of TIAA-CREF and Norges Bank Investment Management. The deal is said to be around $350 million.
The property, called Foundry Square II, is a 10-story low rise building located in the south financial district. Parties involved did not respond to GlobeSt.com by deadline to confirm or deny and we will follow this story and update as we learn more.
But what is confirmed is that TIAA-CREF has been busy lately in the area. In April, the company purchased 55 Second St. from Hines for $275 million, or $725 per square foot. Built in 2002, the class A, 380,000-square-foot property located in the South Financial District is one of the few office towers built after 2000, says JLL. The 26-story, LEED Gold Certified asset is anchored by KPMG and Paul Hastings, and has averaged 95% occupancy since its completion.
Norges Bank Investment Management has also been on a buying spree lately. As GlobeSt.com just recently reported, in a JV with MetLife Inc., the company has acquired the 34-story One Beacon St. office building in Boston from a joint venture of Beacon Capital Partners and Allianz for $561 million.
According to a recent GlobeSt.com article, the Bay Area market is still one of the hottest in the country and investors are paying attention. According to Michael Klein, managing director and COO of Partners Capital Solutions, “The bay area is generally very strong right now as the tech sector is driving a powerful economic expansion.”
And according to a recent report from JLL, “game on” seems to be the sentiment of buyers aggressively seeking office properties across the skyline markets of the US. “It's a good time to be a San Francisco Skyline landlord. Thanks to intense capital demand, rents among trophy assets are soaring, even more so than rising leasing demand, says JLL's Spring 2014 US Skyline Review.
“Market fundamentals in the North and South Financial Districts continue to perform extremely well both because of the continuing demand among tech companies in the southern portion of the market and the commitment by many professional services and financial firms to stay in place in the northern part of the market,” says Christopher T. Roeder, an international director in the San Francisco office of JLL.
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
