The 22-story office tower at 350 California Street in San Francisco’s Financial District has been sold for $61 Million, less than a quarter of the initial asking price. The property was sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group to the joint venture of Swig Company and SKS Partners.
Initial reports for the sale surfaced in May, but the exact figure was revealed by Roland Li for the San Francisco Chronicle late last week. The $61 million price tag is far less than the initial quarter-billion-dollar asking price. Working out at over $200 per square foot, this continues a trend of sizable discounts on commercial office space in San Francisco as the city maintains over 31.8% office vacancy, compared with around 4% pre-pandemic.
350 California Street pedestrian view, image by author
In mid-August, Presidio Bay Ventures purchased the nearby 60 Spear Street offices for $40.9 million, or around $240 per square foot. In early June, the 13-story 550 California Street was sold for nearly a quarter of its initial market price, reaching $120 per square foot.
In a statement shared with the Chronicle, Swig Company CEO Connor Kidd shared that “we viewed this as a generational opportunity to acquire an immaculately maintained and very well-located Financial District building at below replacement cost, and to do so with a skilled and trusted partner.” SKS managing partner Paul Stein said, “the acquisition of 350 California Street reflects the certainty that The Swig Co. and SKS Partners have in San Francisco’s continued role as a center of business and innovation.”
350 California Street, image via Google Street View
The 22-story tower was built in 1976, with architecture by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The brutalist structure includes an eye-catching foundation, framing a transparent glass box lobby with studded walls. Above, concrete pilasters extend to the flat cornice. The project replaced the 1907-built Alaska Commercial Building, a 13-story office building designed by Meyers & Ward Architects. The 0.44-acre parcel is located at the corner of California and Sansome Street, across from the 48-story tower at 345 California Street.
350 California Street, image via Google Satellite
The MUFJ group is a Japanese bank holding company that acquired Union Bank in the 1990s and sold to the US Bank in 2022, based in Minneapolis, with offices at One California Street. MUFJ Group is one of the largest financial holding companies in the world.
Swig Company is a real estate investor. The firm owns 220 Montgomery Street, the Russ Building, and the recently completed 633 Folsom Street office tower now occupied by Asana. SKS Partners is a San Francisco-based firm responsible for the UCSF Psychiatry Building, 1154-1170 Sonora Court, a data center campus in San Jose, and the region’s first mass timber project at 1 De Haro Street.
Future plans for 350 California Street remain unknown.
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Wow what a deal!
This’n needs some recladding.