SAN FRANCISCO-Those who follow @GlobeStcom on Twitter and @GlobeStLIVE may have seen a post teasing the announcement, but GlobeSt.com has learned that Greenwich, CT-based Starwood Property Trust has originated a $140-million first mortgage loan on the Phelan Building, an 11-story, 300,000-square-foot mixed-use building located in San Francisco's Union Square area. Thor Equities is the sponsor.
This transitional capital will help further the sponsor's plan to “reposition one of San Francisco's most historic buildings to meet the needs of the City's high profile technology firms and other businesses seeking truly creative office space,” explains Boyd Fellows, president of Starwood Property Trust.
The “high profile technology firm” he is referring to could likely be the Obvious Corp. led by Evan Williams, the visionary behind Blogger and Twitter. The Obvious Corp. leased three floors at the building for an eight-year term earlier this year, as GlobeSt.com reported. At the time, Thor Equities CEO, Joseph Sitt, said that San Francisco real estate was white-hot right, “as digital entrepreneurs flock into the creative, urban city center from Silicon Valley.”
The Property encompasses approximately 250,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of retail space. The borrower also recently signed a lease with Marshall's to occupy a large, corner retail space and has continued to convert office floors from over 500 small jewelry spaces to appealing, full floor creative office use.
Built in 1908 by former San Francisco mayor James Phelan, the Phelan Building is one of the city's original flatiron buildings, standing as an architecturally distinct landmark at the junction of Market and O'Farrell Streets and Grant Avenue, according to a prepared statement. The Phelan Building is located in San Francisco's premier retail shopping district, one block from Westfield San Francisco Centre, an upscale urban shopping center, and across the street from the Four Seasons Hotel.
Sitt previously said that “The neighborhood surrounding the Phelan Building at 760 Market is the epicenter of this trend—it is attracting wave after wave of tech leaders who can live, work and play and take communications to unimagined heights. I can't wait to see what happens next.”
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
