Most recently, an entity of Los Angeles-based brokerage firm Blatteis & Schnur acquired 800 Market, an eight-story, 49,000-sf building that sits two blocks from Union Square and across the street from the new Westfield San Francisco Centre retail development. The sales price for the soon-to-be vacant building was $22.76 million, or $465 per sf. The new ownership plans to invest another $15 million or so to renovate and reposition the lower floors as a flagship retail location, which should take about 18 months.

In May, Blatteis & Schnur paid $1,575 per sf ($12.6 million) for a vacant but well-located building on the northeast corner at Powell and O'Farrell streets, one block off Union Square and two blocks from San Francisco Centre. The three-level structure was acquired in partnership with Washington, DC-based ASB Capital Management. The business plan includes a full interior and exterior renovation to reposition the building as another flagship retail location.

In August, local investor Edward Duffy paid $4.5 million for a two-story parking garage on a 13,864-sf lot located four blocks west of Union Square. The site address is 832-840 Sutter. The building was marketed based on its income potential as a mixed-use property, though it is not yet entitled for such. In support of the effort, the seller--the locally based Zellerbach Family Foundation--retained architectural firm Charles F. Bloszies, which designed a seven-story building with 70 residential units over 3,000 sf of street-level retail and underground parking for 60 cars. Duffy reportedly plans to entitle the site for the aforementioned project and then redevelop it.

Earlier this year, Madison Marquette announced plans to redevelop 300 Grant, a three-story building it acquired in 1999. Madison Marquette plans to invest $62 million developing a 12-story residential-over-retail building on the site and an adjacent property it acquired last year. Plans show 16,000 sf of retail on the first two floors and 57 residential units on the upper floors. The city is currently considering the redevelopment plans; the company hopes to begin the redevelopment by the end of the year.