SAN FRANCISCO—A historical landmark and one of the city's most celebrated architectural gems, the Hibernia Bank, has been completely renovated by Dolmen Property Group, a local real estate developer. Constructed in 1892, the Hibernia Bank building at One Jones Street was abandoned and had not been an operating property since 1985, standing vacant for 30 years until it was acquired by Dolmen in 2008. The only exception was when the San Francisco Police Department occupied the basement of the building from 1991 to 2000 as a general neighborhood facility before moving to its new headquarters.
Seamus Naughten of Dolmen Property Group tells GlobeSt.com: "Restoring The Hibernia Bank–a masterpiece by Albert Pissis–was extraordinarily challenging from the seismic retrofit work to the vertical surgical core drilling. We are proud to offer this magnificent space in a neighborhood that is transitioning and expanding rapidly."
Originally designed in 1892 by the innovative architect Albert Pissis, the Hibernia Bank is known for its exquisite architecture and rich history. The now-complete renovation includes a total seismic overhaul and preservation of the historic attributes of the previously dilapidated building.
"Because The Hibernia Bank required a full seismic retrofit to avoid damage to the ornate plaster interior and exterior granite, we utilized a unique engineering procedure involving the surgical core drilling of the walls–vertically, from the roof to the foundation–leaving the building interior and exterior virtually untouched," said Naughten. "The end result is waiting on a tenant to complete our adaptive re-use journey."
The property can accommodate office, retail, event, restaurant or other creative space over three floors, plus mezzanine and penthouse areas. Situated at the intersection of Jones, McAllister and Market Streets, The Hibernia Bank occupies 40,600 square feet in the middle of the Mid-Market tech hub that is home to tech leaders including Twitter, UBER and Square.
Listed as San Francisco Historic Landmark #130, the Hibernia Bank's historical features speak to the building's unique Neoclassical Revival-style, including its grand corner entrance, giant exterior colonnade and famed domed entryway. The Hibernia Bank Building was one of the few buildings in the area to survive the 1906 earthquake and fire, owing to its "fireproof" granite construction, although the interior did suffer significant fire damage.
Notably, the lore of The Hibernia Bank includes its founding in 1859 as The Hibernia Savings and Loan Society. In 1974, the Sunset branch of this bank was robbed by the Symbionese Liberation Army and Patty Hearst. In 1988, Hibernia was acquired by Security Pacific, which was acquired by Bank of America in 1992.
"It's exciting to be able to offer the Hibernia Bank, a nationally recognized historical landmark and one of San Francisco's most celebrated architectural gems, for lease," said John Jensen, Colliers senior vice president and lead leasing agent for the property. "This extraordinary building enjoys expansive space in the heart of the Mid-Market neighborhood. Today, this impressive historic building offers leased space that merges its original grandeur with modern touches."
As previously reported, the rehab of the Palace of Fine Arts Exhibition Hall is in the works.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
