Facebook Signs Largest Office Lease in San Francisco

Park Tower at Transbay

A joint venture of MetLife Investment Management, The John Buck Co. and Golub & Co. has signed Facebook to a 755,900-square-foot lease at Park Tower at Transbay, a new Class A building in San Francisco. The 43-story tower, which features nearly 26,000 square feet of outdoor and open space including 14 sky decks, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2018. JLL’s Chris Roeder, Wes Powell and Steve Anderson represented the owners in the lease transaction.

“There are many reasons why Park Tower is appealing—specifically, its location adjacent to the Transit Center and the functional design of the tower itself,” Joel Redmon, MetLife Investment Management’s San Francisco-based managing director, told Commercial Property Executive. “The tower was designed to provide maximum space efficiency for tenants. It also offers great outdoor space with the terraces and balconies and provides the latest in technological advances.”

A big deal

Facebook’s lease agreement is the largest ever in the city of San Francisco, surpassing Dropbox’s pre-lease agreement last October to occupy the 736,000-square-foot The Exchange on 16th Street in its entirety.

With the new lease, Facebook has 1.18 million square feet of space in San Francisco, making it the city’s third-largest tech tenant. Last year, the company leased 436,000 square feet at Jay Paul Co.’s 181 Fremont.

“The lease reflects and confirms our belief that San Francisco continues to be a dynamic real estate investment market,” Redmon added. “When we approached this opportunity in 2015, our belief then was that the initiatives around the Transbay Redevelopment Plan would position the area to benefit from the growth in the technology sector.”

Park Tower is part of the Transbay Redevelopment Plan that is anchored by the new Transit Center. Designed by Goettsch Partners and Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the property will have a look best described as “an office of the future,” and will take advantage of technological innovation. It also will offer stunning views of the San Francisco Bay from 70 percent of the floors.

“The neighborhood continues to see significant growth on the residential and office fronts. The master plan includes more than 6-million square feet of new office space, nearly 4,400 units of housing, approximately 100,000 square feet of new retail in the Transit Center, 1,000 new hotel rooms and acres of open space,” Redmon said. “The building is a confluence of the vision for the Transbay Redevelopment Plan in creating more activity and growth opportunities in the area with office/housing/hotel rooms.”

In April, MetLife Investment Management acquired a majority interest in Boro Station, a three-building office complex in Tysons, Va., from The Meridian Group.

Rendering courtesy of MetLife Investment Management