Portola Place Building Seeks Data User

SAN FRANCISCO—A new class of infrastructure specifically designed to support the information age is now in place. While data centers are commonly used by large companies and government agencies, these centers are also increasingly used to provide cloud solutions for many business applications. Computers are not the typical occupants of a building; demands can take the form of electrical power on the scale of small cities, cooling for large-scale manufacturing and global telecom lines. 

San Francisco is home to numerous data centers, however, 1828 Egbert is the first purpose-built, large-scale data center offered for sale since Abovenet constructed one more than 15 years ago. Networks are XO, Level 3, Synesys, CenturyLink, Integra, Zayo and others within 500 feet of the building.

The property has near-term occupancy with 128,000 square feet and 32,000 square feet per floor available. Height and weights include 13 to 15 foot-clear ceilings and 250 pounds per-square-foot floor loading. The Tier III design, 2N, N+1 building is reinforced concrete with seismic performance substantially above the California essential facility standard for critical facilities with a rating of 1.5.

The facility currently has 10 megawatt switch gear installed and up to 16 megawatts are available from PG&E. The 120,000-square-foot structure is designed for up to 23 megawatts of critical capacity in Phase I. Total buildout could reach 200,000 square feet and more than 30 megawatts of critical capacity. Power usage effectiveness is 1.16 to 1.35, per the design estimate. The shell property is strategically located directly on the Bay Area fiber ring, with a radial distribution system and three substations, including Hunters Point, Martin (Brisbane) and Potrero. 1828 Egbert is also just blocks away from one of the largest aggregation hubs of carrier connectivity in the country, 200 Paul, owned by Digital Realty Trust. 

111 Eighth Avenue in New York City, a much larger though similarly positioned data center and telecom hub, was famously bought by Google in 2010 for a reported $1.9 billion. Site plans are developed, with entitlements available and in process for the Egbert facility. The structure is represented by Wired Real Estate Group Inc.

Everett Thompson, WiredRE CEO tells Globest.com: "It's rare to find a building like this on the market, particularly near a central business district, where everything that's needed for an industrial scale data center development comes together at the same time."

The property is one block from Highway 101 near the Highway 280 interchange, and is located in the Portola Place neighborhood, which has had significant development during the last decade. Some of the most notable projects include the Third Street light rail and the Lennar mixed-use development, promising 12,500 new homes; 4 million-plus square feet of office, commercial and retail space; and 300 acres of open parks, trails and fields.

"We feel the timing of this sale for 2016 is perfect, as we've seen a significant level of activity from service providers and Internet firms via our engagement with WiredRE," commented John Mason, principal at 1828 Egbert. "The large brokerage firms claim specialization; however, WiredRE's singular focus on cloud, colocation and data centers is distinctive."

WiredRE has received numerous exclusive mandates globally, including Ark Data Centres and Kao Park in London and a new colocation facility in Sweden, four sites in China; 22,000 acres near Reno, NV; and Wells Fargo's former data center in Roseville, CA.

"With installed, underground power supply and immediate capacity available, we are receiving a high level of interest from firms that value time to market, and the logical and physical diversity that a world-class carrier hotel and exchange point can provide," commented Thompson.

As previously reported, tech continues to garner attention from a national perspective.