BH Properties to Revamp Retail Center on Fisherman’s Wharf

BH Properties is about to throw a wad of cash at renovations to its largely empty shopping center on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, for which it just paid $65 million.

The Los Angeles-based developer plans an “extensive capital improvement program” for the 322,000-square-foot Anchorage Square property at 500 Beach Street, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The 2.6-acre square, among the largest privately mixed-use properties on the Wharf, draws traffic to the city’s only In-N-Out Burger — now surrounded by 18 empty storefronts.

BH closed on the block-size shopping center last month, buying it from Anchorage Holdings, an affiliate of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority based in the United Arab Emirates. The authority bought the troubled retail center in 2004 for $85 million.

Anchorage Square, built in the 1970s, emptied out during the pandemic. San Francisco’s only Krispy Kreme at 353 Jefferson Street closed in 2021. Other storefronts such as the former Subway and City Segway Tours have stood vacant for several years.

BH plans a “complete upgrade” to Anchorage Square, including its facade, storefronts and common areas as well as landscaping, lighting and signs.

The firm will also look for “alternative uses” for its offices, which could mean more restaurants and entertainment venues. The cost of the pending overhaul was not disclosed.

The shopping portion of the center includes 200,000 square feet of restaurants and shops. It also includes a 128-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel, 28,000 square feet of offices and parking garage for 685 cars, among the largest on the Wharf.

BH Properties President Jim Brooks cited the attraction of the Courtyard Marriott, now 80 percent occupied compared to an average occupancy of 70 percent for San Francisco hotels.

“We see positive signs of tourism in Fisherman’s Wharf returning to its pre-Covid levels and the property’s location between Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square will be a key demand driver,” Brooks said in a statement.

Brokers Laura Barr and Alex Sagues of CBRE will handle leasing and advise BH on the property’s “potential repositioning,” according to the Business Times.

In June, BH made headlines by buying the nearly 57-acre Oakland Hills campus of Holy Names University, a Catholic college that closed this spring after 155 years. The $65 million purchase came just before a foreclosure auction

— Dana Bartholomew