200,000 SF of Leasing Completed at Iconic San Francisco Tower in Under a Year
Columbia Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: CXP) today announced that it has signed a new 86,225-square-foot, eight-year lease with financial technology company Affirm at 650 California Street in San Francisco. With this latest deal, as well as another 21,877-square-foot lease to renew and expand one of the building’s existing tenants, Columbia has now completed 199,676 square feet of leasing at the property over the past ten months. As a result, the 477,000-square-foot office building, which was 65 percent leased at the end of June 2016, will be 89 percent leased.
Affirm will occupy floors eight through twelve of 650 California and the annex of the building and is expected to relocate its headquarters to 650 California from 633 Folsom Street in August, 2017.
This new lease was executed just six weeks after Columbia announced a new lease with WeWork, one of the world’s largest providers of shared office space, to occupy 60,576 square feet in the building.
“The continued leasing momentum at 650 California is a validation of the value creation opportunity we saw when we acquired the building in late 2014,” said Nelson Mills, president and chief executive officer of Columbia Property Trust. “We set out to increase net operating income from the property by capitalizing on the significant roll and below market rents in place at that time by implementing thoughtful upgrades that would attract a diverse tenant base of top-tier firms. The execution of these new leases in the past two months demonstrates our success in fulfilling that objective.”
David Dowdney, senior vice president of the Western Region for Columbia, added, “This recent leasing momentum demonstrates the success of our strategy to transform this mid-century office tower into a fully-modernized and amenity-filled destination of choice for San Francisco’s premier companies. We are pleased to welcome Affirm to 650 California’s roster of prestigious tenants and look forward to working with them to develop a new home for their operational team.”
“After more than three years of exponential growth and counting, we are excited to call 650 California home for many years to come. It is located in a safe and vibrant neighborhood, easily accessible to public transit and has great amenities for our team such as a gym, rooftop, and the best unobstructed views of San Francisco and the bay,” said Chris Tobin, SVP of People and Places at Affirm.
The 33-story Financial District tower has been a landmark on the San Francisco skyline since its construction in 1964. Thanks to a major renovation and remodeling project that was completed in 2013, the building’s unique mid-century architecture is now paired with a clean, modern interior design and a luxury amenities program that has made 650 California appealing to a broad spectrum of office tenants. 650 California was recently named by Architectural Digest as the #2 Breathtaking Office View in a ranking of the top office buildings in the world.
Columbia undertook an additional series of renovations over the past two years, including high-end upgrades of the main lobby and construction of a new café and tenant lounge to foster a more collaborative work environment. Also, a new luxury onsite concierge service is now available exclusively to tenants, along with state-of-the-art fitness and conference centers. The highly-amenitized tower continues to offer specialty transportation features as well, including onsite valet parking, secure bike parking, EV and Scoot-E-Bike® charging stations, and immediate Zipcar® access.
About Columbia Property Trust
Columbia Property Trust (NYSE: CXP) owns and operates Class-A office buildings primarily in high-barrier-to-entry, primary markets. Our portfolio includes 16 office properties containing eight million square feet, concentrated in New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Columbia carries an investment-grade
rating from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. For more information, please visit www.columbia.reit.
