The weekly compilation of the San Francisco Bay Area metro’s biggest leases, sales, financing deals, construction updates and personnel moves. Have news you’d like to submit? Email joseph.gordon@bisnow.com. 

Gensler signed a new long-term office lease last week at San Francisco's Mills Building at 220 Montgomery St. The company will occupy 45K SF on the building's second floor, which will be renovated to allow for all-electric utilities.

“San Francisco has been our home for 57 years," Hao Ko, co-managing director of Gensler's San Francisco office, said in a press release.

“It’s the founding office of Gensler and an important hub office in the firm. This new lease reflects our deep commitment to the City of San Francisco and the business community here.”

Gensler signed the lease with The Swig Co. The move will assist Gensler in achieving its 2030 carbon-zero goals, according to a press release from the company.

LEASES 

Personalis, a Silicon Valley life sciences startup, relocated from its Menlo Park offices to Fremont, signing a 100K SF lease at 6600 Dumbarton Circle, the Mercury News reported.

Personalis vacated 32K SF in Menlo Park, effectively tripling its footprint with the new lease. The company signed a 13-year lease at its new location. The property is owned by NJJ Real Estate California, The Real Deal reported.

DEVELOPMENT

The city of Vacaville last week approved the development of a 375K SF biomanufacturing facility dubbed Axiom Point. The project will be developed via a joint partnership between Transwestern Ventures and Transwestern Real Estate Services.

The development will be delivered in two phases in the Vaca Valley Business Park on the I-80 corridor, Connect CRE reported.

“Vacaville has the land, infrastructure and workforce that the biotechnology industry needs to grow,” Vacaville Mayor Ron Rowlett said in a press release.

“We are building on our proven success with the industry to secure Vacaville’s continued leadership as a biomanufacturing center going forward, and are fortunate that Transwestern sees the potential and value of investing in Vacaville.”

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New renderings for a self-storage and industrial project in Bayview Hunters Point in San Francisco were revealed last week, SF YIMBY reported. The project at 2270 McKinnon Ave. would be composed of a five-story building offering storage and industrial space.

The project is being designed by Jackson Liles Architecture. The building will span 111K SF, SF YIMBY reported. It would require the demolition of a 5K SF structure and parking lot on the site. Construction is estimated to cost $19.5M, with no timeline yet announced.

FINANCING 

Valiance Capital received a $10.5M loan for an eight-story student housing project at 2538 Durant Ave. in Berkeley, SF YIMBY reported. The loan was arranged by ACRES Capital and Highland Realty Capital.

The project is expected to span 80K SF in an 85-foot-tall structure with 5K SF of ground-floor retail. Five of the project's 83 units will be allocated for very low-income households. The property will contain 270 beds, with units ranging from studios to four-bedroom units.

THIS & THAT 

JLL's Global Premium Office Rent Tracker report revealed Silicon Valley is one of the top five markets in terms of occupancy costs, which the report calculated at $149 per SF, falling behind Hong Kong's Central, New York's Midtown, London's West End and Beijing's Finance Street.

Other takeaways from the report included that worldwide premium office rents grew by 4.8% over the course of 2022 and that 95% of buildings in high-end markets have sustainability certification. Additionally, banking and finance companies accounted for 72% of the demand.