San Francisco's Hawthorne Plaza Sold to Manulife Real Estate

A joint venture of Hines and RREEF sold Hawthorne Plaza in downtown San Francisco to Manulife Real Estate, the real estate arm of Manulife Financial Corporation, at the close of last month according to a CoStar report. While the price of the sale was not disclosed, CoStar did reveal that the JV originally acquired the property in December 2007 for $186 million, or approximately $416 per square foot.

"We are truly delighted to add a property as significant as Hawthorne Plaza to Manulife's global real estate investment portfolio," said Kevin Adolphe, Chief Operating Officer of Manulife Financial's Investment Division and President and CEO of Manulife Real Estate. "San Francisco is one of the target growth areas for our Company's real estate business. The acquisition of Hawthorne Plaza is the latest step in our ongoing strategy to invest in core office properties to complement our growing portfolio across the United States, Canada and Asia."

The 441,000-square-foot office complex at 75 Hawthorne St. achieved LEED-EB Gold Certification in May of 2009 and is targeted to undergo significant renovations with an aim to pursue LEED-EB Platinum status. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the property's anchor tenant occupying approximately 285,000 square feet for the agency's Southwest Regional Headquarters.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.