Tech giant Google is reportedly preparing to exit its 300,000-square-foot office at One Market Plaza in San Francisco when its lease expires in April 2025.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that One Market Plaza, a prominent downtown office complex boasting stunning views of San Francisco Bay, is bracing for the departure of its second major tenant in just a year. Google, which has occupied the expansive office space since 2018, will be moving out once its lease expires next April, as confirmed by a company spokesperson on Tuesday. This move follows the recent exit of Visa, which relocated its employees to Mission Rock.
The decision to vacate the waterfront office comes amidst Google’s flexible approach to office attendance, with many of its employees already working remotely. One Market Plaza, one of the city’s largest office properties and a defining feature of its skyline, encompasses 1.6 million square feet across two high-rise towers and an 11-story annex building known as the Landmark.
Protesters attend a pro-Palestine demonstration during the opening of an exhibition entitled ‘Cartooning on the Frontline’ by Israeli artist Michel Kichka at the MOCAK Museum of Modern Art. in. Krakow, Poland on April 11, 2024. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A Google Inc. employee marches towards City Hall during the Global Climate Strike in Seattle, Washington, U.S., on Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. Thousands of workers at Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. walked out without their bosses’ blessings to protest rising global temperatures. Photographer: Chloe Collyer/Bloomberg
According to Google spokesperson Ryan Lamont, the company will continue to occupy the smaller Landmark building while moving out of the Spear Tower. Lamont declined to comment on the duration of Google’s planned stay in the Landmark building but reaffirmed the company’s commitment to maintaining a long-term presence in San Francisco.
Real estate market insiders suggest that Google plans to consolidate its operations from One Market to the nearby 345 Spear St., where the company currently leases about 400,000 square feet. These sources indicate that Google is likely to renew its lease at 345 Spear St. once it expires next year, although Lamont refused to comment on this potential move.
The news of Google’s impending departure comes just months after Paramount and Blackstone successfully negotiated a three-year extension, with a one-year option, on a $975 million loan for One Market Plaza that was set to mature in February. The partners managed to secure the extension by making a $125 million payment on the maturing debt. Market participants suggest that securing such a deal would have been more challenging had Google announced its exit earlier.
Despite the record-high office vacancy rates in San Francisco, surpassing 36 percent this year, One Market Plaza continues to command some of the highest rents in the city, with effective rents approximately 20 percent higher than other trophy office buildings. The complex has long attracted top-tier tenants, including Visa and Autodesk, although both companies have recently announced plans to exit or downsize their presence at the property.
Read more at the San Francisco Chronicle here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
