SF's 235 Pine Trades Hands

235 Pine Street in San Francisco traded hands this month as a fund managed by CBRE Global Investors purchased the office property for a reported $88.8 million, or $591 per square foot, according to The Registry. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Built in 1990, the property features 207,500 square feet on 25 stories, is located in the heart of San Francisco's Financial District between California and Market streets near amenities including restaurants, gyms and public transportation.

235 Pine is currently home to the soon-to-be-vacating GSA Bankruptcy Court, the buyer confirmed. Phil Hench, principal at CBRE Global Investors, said the company saw the Pine Street building as a valuable asset not only because of its proximity to BART, but also because the bankruptcy court will soon give up its more than 50,000 square feet on the top six floors.

"The traditional (finance, insurance and real estate)-type users that went through a difficult period of downsizing – and since then have been status quo and haven't added jobs or space – are in fact expected to recover and accelerate," he said. "We'll see a lot of activity from that sector, and at the same time more and more of these tech companies are not afraid to go into traditional vertical highrise office buildings."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

CBRE Acquires CAC Group

CBRE Group, Inc. announced this week that it had acquired The CAC Group (CAC), one of San Francisco's most dominant real estate brokerage and property management firms. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, CBRE did announce that the acquisition makes CBRE the number one provider of commercial property management and leasing in one of the strongest and fastest growing office markets in the United States. CAC was founded in 1990, and employs 130 real estate professionals, serving as agent for approximately 18 million sq. ft. and manages approximately 11 million sq. ft. of office properties in downtown San Francisco, the greater Bay area and Seattle (including Bellevue).

"It's really no secret that we felt that CBRE was the ideal match to take our company to the next generation," said Bill Cumbelich, a co-founder and principal of CAC, in a San Francisco Business Times article. "When we had a client that, let's say, was based here in San Francisco and was growing nationally or globally, we were not able to help them. But with CBRE — that's exactly what they can do."

"This is a great day in the history of commercial real estate in San Francisco. CBRE was founded in San Francisco in 1906, and today we have created the premier real estate company in The City," said Steven Swerdlow, CBRE's Chief Operating Officer for the Americas, and President, Western Division. "CAC has been a recognized leader in commercial real estate in San Francisco for almost a quarter of a century. Most importantly, they share our values and commitment to being a world-class, client-focused real estate advisor."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Twitter Adds to Sunnyvale Space

Twitter, the San Francisco micro-blogging social network, announced this week that it was expanding its office space with the lease of an additional 10,000 square feet at Sunnyvale Business Park, at 400 West California Ave. The company first established its presence at Sunnyvale in May of this year with the lease of 8,000 square feet of space, along with the commitment from property owner Principal Real Estate Investors to construct a 107,000-square-foot office building next to the existing building for additional Twitter space.

Dave Sandlin, a Colliers International senior vice president who represents Twitter's Sunnyvale property, said some San Francisco tech companies are realizing they need to have a presence further south. After all, while the city might be the hot talent market right now, the greater San Jose metro area also carries some advantages. "If you look at the housing situation in San Francisco, trying to put all your workers up there is very difficult, " said Sandlin.

The emphasis on San Francisco signifies how Silicon Valley, an area extending south from just below San Francisco to San Jose, California, no longer has a grip on technology companies, as reported by a New York Times article this month. About 18 months ago, tech companies started moving or expanding here to be closer to their employees. According to reports, Twitter is looking to add 320,000 square feet to its footprint in San Francisco, bringing its total to about 600,000 square feet.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Dolby Labs Purchases SF Tower for $109.8 Million

Dolby Laboratories announced this week that it was purchasing 1275 Market Street in San Francisco, formerly the home of the California State Compensation Insurance Fund, for $109.8 million. The seller is a partnership between DivcoWest and TMG Partners. The two real estate investment firms purchased the building in October of 2011 for $44 million, or about $115 a square foot, according to a San Francisco Business Times article. A non-refundable deposit of about $5.5 million has been placed in escrow, and the sale is expected to be completed on July 10, Dolby plans to fully occupy the 354,000 square foot building as its new headquarters.

"Dolby technologies bring richness, realism, and immersion to entertainment in the cinema, at home, and on mobile devices," said Kevin Yeaman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dolby Laboratories. "This investment will support the company's current needs and future growth by fostering a collaborative environment that will continue to attract and retain the best employees."

"San Francisco--based Dolby is an important employer and business leader here in the 'Innovation Capital of the World,' and we appreciate the company's continued commitment to job creation in our City," said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. "Companies like Dolby are transforming the Central Market neighborhood into a vibrant hub for entertainment, culture, and innovation and are proving that our economic strategy for companies to start here, grow here, and stay here is working."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Market Center Office Complex in SF Sold for $265M

Manulife Financial, a Canadian-based financial services group, has entered into the Bay Area real estate market with the purchase of Market Center in San Francisco for $265 million, or $344 per square foot according to CoStar. Manulife acquired the 770,044-square-foot, two-tower office complex from RREEF America, which previously bought the complex in a joint venture with Page Mill Properties from Tishman Speyer for $79.5 million in October 2003. Page Mill sold its interest to RREEF for $127.5 million in May 2006.

Connected by a large landscaped courtyard, Market Center consists of two office towers: 555 Market Street, a 21-story, 283,000 square-foot building completed in 1965; and 575 Market Street, a 40-story, 487,000 square-foot building added in 1975. The buildings have been extensively renovated and modernized with state-of-the-art systems in the last few years and are in the process of being LEED certified for environmental sustainability. "We identified San Francisco as one of several potential growth areas for our real estate business and we are optimistic about the possibilities in this and other key markets as we continue to look for core office and industrial investment opportunities to complement our portfolio across the United States, Canada and Asia," Kevin Adolphe, COO of Manulife's Investment Division, said in a statement.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.