The city of San Francisco, which has seen its downtown hollowed out by empty office buildings, has decided to leverage the crisis to its own advantage by securing a discount deal to anchor a Market Street office tower.

The city's agreement with landlord Hudson Pacific Properties for 1455 Market Street—a 22-story tower that once served as the headquarters for ride-sharing giant Uber—includes a long-term lease for 157K SF, which begins with a base rent of $40 per SF, and an option to buy the 1M SF tower, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The deal is part of a strategy for the city to consolidate its current office footprint and get a better deal on the space it needs in a market with an office vacancy rate of nearly 37%. The city is opting out of a lease at 11-story 1155 Market Street and consolidating space for city departments at 1455 Market.