Salesforce Purchase Allows for HQ Expansion

SAN FRANCISCO—As GlobeSt.com earlier reported, Salesforce has recently signed an agreement to purchase 50 Fremont St., a 41-story building located at the intersection of Fremont and Mission Streets in San Francisco's South of Market district, from TIAA-CREF. In an update to that story, Burke Norton, EVP and chief legal officer of Salesforce, says that the purchase of 50 Fremont Street “will allow us to expand our global headquarters in the heart of downtown San Francisco, strengthening our commitment to the City.”

According to Norton, "Salesforce was founded in San Francisco 15 years ago and we have always prioritized growing and hiring in San Francisco.” This additional space, he adds, “ensures that we can continue going so for many years to come.”

Salesforce currently leases more than 60% of the available space in the 50 Fremont building, and upon closing of the transaction, Salesforce will have the option to take on additional space in the building as it becomes available. 50 Fremont consists of a 41-story office building and two retail buildings totaling approximately 817,000 square feet as well as an adjacent plaza.

With existing space, the new office expansion at 50 Fremont, the recently revealed Salesforce Tower above the planned Transbay Transit Center and the lease of 350 Mission, which is currently under construction, Salesforce's worldwide headquarters is projected to exceed two million square feet by 2017.

Centered around the intersection of Mission and Fremont Streets, the urban campus offers convenient access to public transit, freeways and other key amenities along the Market Street corridor.

As for why TIAA-CREF chose to sell, the firm's Lynette Pineda, senior director, head of capital markets and sales says that “We began investing in San Francisco's South Financial District more than a decade ago with the purchase of 50 Fremont St. The asset has performed well, yet we are constantly reviewing our holdings and rebalancing the portfolio to best meet investment goals. We will remain active as buyers in the Bay Area and continue to seek office, retail and multifamily acquisitions.”

Salesforce is committed to the city of San Francisco and continues to grow and hire locally. Salesforce today announced it has already hired more than 1,100 employees in San Francisco in 2014. As San Francisco's largest tech employer, Salesforce has more than 5,000 employees in the Bay Area and more than 15,000 employees worldwide.

According to an SEC filing—which revealed that GlobeSt.com's recently reported $640-million price tag was accurate—we learned that the property is subject to and secures an existing loan in the amount of approximately $200 million. Salesforce will either assume or pay at the closing of the transaction, the filling says. It also notes that the transaction is expected to close in the Company's first quarter of fiscal 2016, subject to customary closing conditions.

Salesforce does not have any further information to share at this time but we will update if we learn anything more.