CBRE Arranges $22 Million Sale of Creative Office Asset in San Francisco for New York Life Real Estate Investors and Bridgeton

CBRE’s Capital Markets team in San Francisco arranged the sale of 410 Townsend Street, a four-story 78,000 sq. ft. office building in San Francisco’s south of market (SOMA) submarket.

New York Life Real Estate Investors (“NYLREI”) and Bridgeton, a vertically integrated real estate investment firm, purchased the property for $22 million. NYLREI and Bridgeton were represented by Mike Taquino and Kyle Kovac of CBRE.

“We’re excited to invest in 410 Townsend in collaboration with Bridgeton. It’s our opinion that this is the start of the recovery for the San Francisco real estate market and 410 Townsend provides us with the opportunity to acquire a best-in-class creative brick and beam office asset well below replacement cost and where the asset traded in 2013 and 2019,” said Albert Pura, Senior Director of Transactions for New York Life Real Estate Investors.

NYREI believes the property is appealing to technology related tenants given its proximity to Interstate 280, providing access to the San Francisco Peninsula, direct access to Caltrain and MUNI light rail, including the new Central Subway line, abundant on-site below grade parking, high ceilings, open floor plates and excellent north/south window lines with views to Downtown San Francisco and Mission Bay.

“Given our investment history in San Francisco, we have a strong grasp on what will appeal to tenants in the market, especially along the Townsend Street corridor, and we believe this asset is primed for success. Historically it has been a top performing asset, and that has been demonstrated by recent leasing activity. Vacancy rates in San Francisco have flattened and notable leasing transactions have started to occur over the last six months, which we believe is a strong indicator of upward momentum,” said Akash Sharma, President of Bridgeton. “We’re excited to be working with New York Life on this opportunity. Acquiring the property without debt, at a historically attractive basis, and with move-in ready suites, 410 Townsend is well positioned to capitalize on the positive trends that are starting to occur.”

“Given the current market pressures and the shift to work from home since the pandemic, our focus continues to be on identifying appealing investments for our equity capital, which includes office assets. This investment complements our objective of sourcing assets in markets that we believe are priced at an attractive cost per square foot, well located, high quality and meet the needs of the end user,” said Mr. Pura.

Known as the "Start-Up Village" by The Wall Street Journal, 410 Townsend has been the original headquarters for start-up companies like Yammer, Eventbrite, and Zendesk, and has continuously hosted high-profile tech/creative firms and Fortune 500 companies, such as Sony, Adobe, AOL, Stripe, and Pinterest. “This clearly demonstrates the buildings appeal to both high-growth and well-established companies seeking engaging workspaces for their teams”, said Akash Sharma.

This represents the first partnership of NYLREI and Bridgeton. Bridgeton has owned/operated multiple assets in San Francisco, including 260 Townsend, 747 Front Street, 555 De Haro Street, Folsom Corner, 3180 18th Street (Pioneer Building) and 945 Bryant Street.