Blockbuster lease will keep Bank of America at 555 California
Vornado Realty Trust[5] has signed a blockbuster new lease with the Bank of America[6] at 555 California St., a deal that will ensure that the financial institution will remain the anchor tenant in the tower that has long bore its name.
The Bank of America lease totals 260,000 square feet, 205,000 of which is in the tower with another 55,000 in the adjacent historic 315 Montgomery building. While the deal is far smaller than the 600,000 square feet the BofA has had under lease for decades, it actually represents an expansion as most of the BofA space has been sublet to other tenants since 1998 when the bank merged with NationsBank Corp and its headquarters moved to North Carolina.
The BofA will move some of its private wealth management executives to the tower, but the bank will give up its two-story, 60,000 square-foot flagship retail branch. Instead bank will likely establish a much smaller retail branch at 315 Montgomery St.
BofA, which was represented by Mark MacGranahan[7] and Mark Anderson of Cushman & Wakefield[8], had looked at a slew of options, including buildings that are under construction like nearly-complete Foundry Square III and 222 Second St.
Bill Cumbelich of CBRE, who handles leasing in the building with Tom Poggi[9], Angus Scott[10], and Patrick Devinger[11], said that 418,000 square feet of leasing were completed in 2013, bringing occupancy to about 98 percent. In addition to the BofA deal, Morgan Stanley[12] did a deal for 41,000 square feet (a renewal and expansion), and UBS[13] agreed to a 41,000 square foot renewal. And the most high-profile deal in the building, reported here in early December, was a $97 a square foot lease at the top of the tower by Supercell, a $3 billion Helsinki-based startup behind the mobile games “Clash of Clans” and “Hay Day.”
J.K. Dineen covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.
References
- ^ J.K. Dineen (feeds.bizjournals.com)
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- ^ Twitter (twitter.com)
- ^ Google+ (plus.google.com)
- ^ Vornado Realty Trust (www.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Bank of America (www.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Mark MacGranahan (feeds.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Cushman & Wakefield (www.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Tom Poggi (feeds.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Angus Scott (feeds.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Patrick Devinger (feeds.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Morgan Stanley (www.bizjournals.com)
- ^ UBS (www.bizjournals.com)