An under-the-radar acquisition of an office-retail building in San Francisco’s Union Square occurred in the early part of August, as a subsidiary of South Korean company Hanwha purchased the property at 300 Grant Ave. for $155M on Aug. 9.

Hanwha Life’s purchase is one of the largest commercial real estate transactions in Union Square in recent years, just behind Lincoln Property Co. and Cara Investment’s $156M acquisition of the Saks Fifth Avenue building at 384 Post late last year. The Hanwha transaction was first reported by The Real Deal.

Construction on the 300 Grant Ave. property was completed in 2021. The 30K SF retail portion of the property is leased by Cushman & Wakefield, according to The Real Deal. The retail is 50% occupied.

Vacancy rates in San Francisco’s office segment have continued to lag behind the rest of the country, particularly as the gaps between Class-A, B and C properties in the segment continue to widen.

The city's retail performance is similarly seeing a dichotomy in its recovery, with residential neighborhoods experiencing strong pedestrian traffic and less vacancy while others, like Union Square and Downtown San Francisco, struggle to return to pre-pandemic levels.