SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Highridge Partners and Montgomery Capital Partners have completed the
acquisition of 550 Kearny Street in San Francisco. The 10-story office
building is located in the heart of the city’s financial district and
just three blocks from 255 California, which Highridge and Montgomery
acquired last July.

“This is a little jewel located in one of the strongest office
submarkets in downtown San Francisco”

“This is a little jewel located in one of the strongest office
submarkets in downtown San Francisco,” said Jack Mahoney, executive vice
president of Highridge Partners. “It is another great fit with our
investment program that we launched last year that focuses on Class A
office properties in California’s top-tier markets.”

The marble and granite clad building comprises approximately 196,000
rentable square feet including 9,700 square feet of ground floor retail
and on-site valet parking for 150 cars. The building has a 9 ½ foot
window line with views of the city and bay, ample natural light, and is
walking distance from all the financial district’s amenities.

The acquisition cost was $37.7 million, which at $190 per square foot is
well below replacement cost, Mahoney points out. The building, which is
50 percent leased, is well suited for larger users with its
approximately 18,500-square-foot flexible floor plates, which also break
down very well for smaller users.

“With San Francisco’s tight restrictions on new office construction and
the beginning of improvement in the office leasing market, we think this
is a great time to expand our investments in this dynamic market,” said
Jim Clifford of San Francisco-based Montgomery Capital Partners, which
is responsible for Bay Area properties acquired by the partnership. “550
Kearny is a great building in an extraordinary location. We have a few
critical improvements to the lobby and retail areas so that it will
better engage with the street and pedestrians and allow us to attract
San Francisco’s world-class tenants that have started to grow again.”

This was the third acquisition for Highridge Partners’ current $500
million office investment program, which is led by founder John Long,
Mahoney and their long-time office strategic partner, Jim Clifford.
Highridge provides capital and strategic guidance to the venture.
Clifford, through his company Montgomery Capital Partners, assembled a
team of seasoned consultants and professionals in order to fully
underwrite and submit the winning offer for 550 Kearny, which was
marketed through a bidding competition managed by The CB Richard Ellis
National Loan Sale Advisory Group.

Highridge Partners is a privately held, international real estate
investment company founded in 1978 by Long, who applies economics
principles to spot uniquely undervalued opportunities and turn them into
high-value properties. Often called a “contrarian” investor, Highridge
Partners has acquired, developed or financed over $7.7 billion of
assets. The company’s investments have spanned the entire range of real
estate including single family housing, apartments, retail, office,
industrial, hotels, and entertainment venues.

Montgomery Capital Partners is a full-service real estate investment
firm based in San Francisco and led by Jim Clifford. Over the past three
decades Clifford has been the key operational player on projects valued
at over $7 billion. Montgomery provides the critical strategic
operational knowledge to enable real estate investments to succeed.
Montgomery’s core strength is the ability to understand, implement, and
execute on the appropriate strategy for each asset.

Article source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110325005129/en/Highridge-Partners-Montgomery-Capital-Partners-Acquire-550