BH Properties Buys Fisherman's Wharf Shopping Center

A Los Angeles-based developer is betting it can turn around a mixed-use shopping center on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf.

BH Properties is planning an extensive capital improvement program—they’re calling it a “complete upgrade”—for 322K SF Anchorage Square at 500 Beach Street, a mixed-use center it has acquired for $65M.

According to a report in the San Francisco Business Times, the primary attraction at the shopping center, which fills a city block, is San Francisco’s only In-N-Out Burger, which sits in the midst of more than a dozen empty storefronts.

The 1970s-vintage Anchorage Square, which also is home to a 128-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel and a 685-stall parking garage, lost most of its tenants during the pandemic. The exodus included the city’s only Krispy Kreme outlet—which means there’s nothing to go with your chocolate shake after you scarf a couple of In-N-Out burgers.

You’re probably thinking, why did they name a square in Fisherman’s Wharf for Alaska’s largest city?

The name derives from the seller, Anchorage Holdings—an affiliate of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, based in the United Arab Emirates, which bought the shopping center in 2004 for $85M.

According to the Times report, BH is evaluating alternative uses for the 28K SF of office space at Anchorage Square, as well as additional restaurant and entertainment options. The developer also is planning an upgrade of the tenant and common areas at the shopping center, including a new façade, landscaping and lighting.

The Anchorage Square acquisition is BH Properties’ second Bay Area purchase in the past two months. In June, the firm bought the 60-acre campus in Oakland that has been the occupied by Holy Name University since 1868.

The deal to sell the campus was completed three weeks before the property was scheduled to go on the selling block at a foreclosure auction on June 30.

BH Properties purchased the campus for $65M, about $5M less than the asking price the Catholic college was seeking when it listed the property in March. CBRE marketed the property on behalf of Holy Names.

BH said in a statement that it intends to lease the space at the campus to other educational operators.

“There are many organizations in dire need of educational space and we believe there will be significant interest in leasing this site,” Andy Van Tuyle, a senior managing director for BH, said in the statement.

In an interview with Real Estate Capital last year, BH President Jim Brooks said the company was closely monitoring distressed properties around the country, with a strategy of purchasing delinquent loans from lenders as a prelude to acquiring the property.

The campus, located at 3500 Mountain Boulevard in the Oakland Hills neighborhood, encompasses 15 buildings that include a gymnasium, performing arts center, chapel, library, 30 classrooms and housing for 450 students.

The college ceased operations in May after its spring semester. Earlier this year, Holy Names defaulted on a $49M loan from Dallas-based lender Preston Hollow Community Capital.