NIFTY FIFTY

August 3, 2011 | 8:00 am ET Staff Reporter

Anchor tenant Deloitte & Touche is in the process of vacating 280k SF at Fifty Fremont this month, but TIAA-CREF's director of real estate asset management John Cornuke has no time for a pity party (so cancel those balloons and noise makers). Yesterday, John told us he's planning an approximately $10M renovation at the South Financial District office tower. The financial services org brought back the skyscraper’s original design firm—Skidmore, Owings & Merrill—to redo the 42-story building's main lobby and entries, common areas, and public spaces to improve the arrival experience. John says Fifty Fremont was built in 1983 and needed some updating. With Deloitte’s departure, the office tower is 63% leased. “We’re aggressively looking for a quality tenant to backfill the space.” With just one or two large blocks available in the South Financial District, he says Fifty Fremont presents a “good option.” (A plus: It’s located in an area that's rapidly becoming hip due to the massive Transbay Transit Center redevelopment.)

The CAC Group is handling leasing of the office space with Colliers doing the honors for the retail space. Speaking of which, a high-profile restaurant, which would offer outdoor dining is under consideration for the plaza area, the Plaza at Fifty Fremont. Other plans call for adding gathering spaces in a piazza setting, including a new amphitheater seating block. Completion: Q1 ’12. The renovation program follows a first phase focused on sustainable infrastructure and operations, which earned the property LEED Platinum last year. Vacancy has fallen to about 11.3% in the South Financial District. TIAA-CREF owns two other office buildings—88 Kearny and 275 Battery—in San Francisco, a target market for the company. When John a little motivation, he can turn to his team: He coaches Little League (with three sons active in the sport).

NIFTY FIFTY

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