Golden Gate University sold a portion of its campus in downtown San Francisco, joining the exodus from the city’s Financial District. The 170-year-old university sold 48K SF about a half block away from Salesforce Tower for about $17M.

Long Market Property Partners, a real estate investment firm based in San Francisco, bought the property last week in one of the rare deals in the downtown area.

PEOPLE 

East Bay Asian Local Development Corp. appointed Lina Sheth as its interim CEO. Sheth owns a business development consulting firm and has served in multiple interim executive roles, according to the nonprofit developer.

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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill announced Shona O’Dea as its new sustainability director. O’Dea will focus on technical aspects of sustainable building design and operations from indoor air quality to innovations in materials.

LEASES

Vaco, an executive staffing firm, agreed to lease 50K SF of office at Bishop Ranch in San Ramon. The staffing firm will move into the office at 2603 Camino Ramon, capable of accommodating 1,000 employees. Vaco has 45 offices worldwide and about 10,000 employees.

Sunset Development owns Bishop Ranch in the Bay Area suburb. The terms of the lease were not disclosed.

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CamelBak Products renewed a lease for a 29K SF office at the South Petaluma Business Center in Petaluma at a property owned by Basil Street Properties.

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Regus inked a lease deal to occupy three floors in the Oakland Tribune Tower in downtown Oakland. The flexible workspace firm will occupy 17.6K SF of office with an option for 22K SF more. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

FINANCING

Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. arranged a $12.2M loan for refinancing Arbordale Gardens, a multifamily property located at 42010 Blacow Road in Fremont. The apartment complex is located in the heart of the Bay Area suburb.

THIS AND THAT

The San Francisco Planning Commission approved a raft of legislation aimed at making it easier to convert office space to residential last week. The legislation will head to the city council next as the city continues to struggle with high vacancy rates and housing affordability.