CBRE Sells a High-Rise Office Tower in Downtown San Diego

CBRE announced the successful closing of 530 B Street, a 24-story, 250,000-sq.-ft.-office tower located in the B Street corridor of downtown San Diego, for $27.5 million ($110 per sq. ft.) to Ambient Communities, a San Diego-based real estate development company.

CBRE's Matt Carlson, Hunter Rowe, Camille Doan, Matt Pourcho and Anthony DeLorenzo represented the seller in the transaction.

Completed in 1966, the tower was known as the Union Bank building until U.S. Bank acquired the bank in 2022. Like many office assets in the central business districts, 530 B Street has faced significant challenges in a declining office environment. Despite the broader downtown San Diego market vacancy rate of 24% in Q3 2024, the CBRE team leveraged their extensive market knowledge and access to unique capital to implement a highly competitive marketing strategy and bid process.

"The bidding process for this downtown office asset was exceptionally competitive," said Matt Carlson, executive vice president and co-head of U.S. Office Capital Markets at CBRE. "We attracted diverse bidders, including residential converters, office users and private investors. This resulted in 16 initial offers and three rounds of competitive bidding.”

"We are pleased with the results we deliver for our valued client and excited about the future of 530 B Street, as Ambient Communities has a phenomenal vision for repositioning the asset," said Rowe, first vice president at CBRE.

Mickey Morera of Kidder Mathews represented Ambient Communities in the transaction.