Rendering of 88 Bluxome St., San Francisco. Courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

SAN FRANCISCO—Pinterest has signed a lease for nearly 490,000 square-feet at 88 Bluxome St., a planned 1-million-square-foot mixed-use project to be developed by Pasadena, CA-based Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

The deal with the social media web and mobile application company brings pre-leasing at the mixed-use campus to nearly 60%. The transaction also represents the first major lease signed at a development project in support of San Francisco's much anticipated “Central SoMa Plan, which won city approval last December.

“We are committed to addressing the multiple priorities expressed by the SoMa community through the well-planned development of our 88 Bluxome campus,” says Stephen A. Richardson, co-chief executive officer of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. “This transformative community-focused development represents a meaningful opportunity for us to create a new destination that will revitalize the neighborhood and stimulate innovation and job growth in SoMa, while it also further enhances Alexandria's visible pipeline of key future value-creation development projects.”

The 88 Bluxome St. campus will feature a distinctive, next-generation technology and life science building with active retail space on the ground floor and an abundance of outdoor deck spaces throughout the building. The campus development will also include a community recreation center with two new swimming pools and a public activity space to expand the offerings of the neighborhood's existing Gene Friend Recreation Center; a child care center; an air rights parcel deeded to the city for the development of approximately 90 units of affordable housing.

Other community-oriented amenities at the development are a pedestrian art walk with commissioned art pieces from artists Tomás Saraceno and Max Lamb, complemented by other contributions from local artists; production, distribution and repair (PDR) space for small businesses and a inear park along the newly improved Bluxome Street.

“We were drawn to this project specifically because of how open the space will be to our neighbors,” says Charlie Hale, head of public policy and social impact at Pinterest. “We know how important the Gene Friend Rec Center has been for many of our community partners. That's why we're excited this project will provide additional space for the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. We are thankful to be part of SoMa and continue to identify ways our spaces can reflect our commitment to the neighborhood.”

In January of this year, the Yerba Buena Neighborhood Consortium, the legal arm of the affordable housing group Todco, filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court charging that that the plan's environmental study was inadequate, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a total market capitalization of $18.4 billion and an asset base in North America of 33.1 million square feet as of Dec. 31, 2018. The asset base in North America includes 22.4 million rentable square feet of operating properties and 3.9 million rentable square feet of development and redevelopment of new Class A properties currently undergoing construction and pre-construction activities with target delivery dates ranging from 2019 through 2020.

Additionally, the asset base in North America includes 6.8 million square feet of intermediate-term and future development projects. Since its founding in 1994, Alexandria has established a significant market presence in Greater Boston, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland and Research Triangle Park.

Instant Insights /

Pinterest Signs Nearly 490,000 SF Lease to Anchor SF Development Site

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