Restaurant Mogul Greg Flynn to Buy San Francisco Office Tower

Greg Flynn, the San Francisco real estate magnate with chain restaurant holdings across the United States, is set to become the new owner of Market Center.

The two commercial skyscrapers at 555-575 Market Street could become Flynn’s under a deed in lieu of foreclosure, the San Francisco Standard reported. Flynn’s Flynn Properties, joined by New York-based investor DRA, will pay about $177 million for what’s left of the $416 million loan on the property from lender ING.

Paramount Group’s deal to sell its debt works out to $238 per square foot across the 770,000-square-foot offices. It would mark the highest sale price for an office property in the city since 2022 when DivcoWest purchased 550 Terry A. Francois Boulevard — now the offices of OpenAI — from Gap for an undisclosed price.

Paramount Group bought Market Center from Blackstone in 2019 for $722 million, but at the end of 2023, the firm said the property value had sunk below the value of the debt used to acquire it. The company signaled last year that it would shed Market Center in the near future.

Flynn told the San Francisco Business Times he plans to make Market Center “the most fun office opportunity” in San Francisco.

The unused meeting space on the ground floor at 555 Market Street would become a multiuse activity center called The Break Room. It would come complete with a massive video screen, basketball court, rock climbing wall and outdoor sports bar. Another floor in the 21-story tower once used by Uber will turn into two or three pickleball courts and a meeting space.

“We’re going to bring a level of hospitality to the office market never before seen in San Francisco,” Flynn told The Standard.

The 21-story 555 Market and 40-story 575 Market will be the third office property built by Standard Oil to be purchased by the billionaire. Flynn Properties previously owned and sold office towers nearby at 115 Sansome Street and 225 Bush Street.

Building owners like Flynn aren’t the only ones recognizing the potential of turning drab office towers into attractive all-purpose hotspots.

Last month, Mayor Daniel Lurie unveiled legislation that would cut red tape and make it easier for downtown building owners to turn ground-floor space zoned for retail into office amenities.

At 201 Mission Street, owner LaSalle Investment Management hopes to turn the former Starbucks on the ground floor — closed since 2023 — into a gym for office tenants.

“The goal is obvious: to help companies get their people back to work, because it’s fun,” Flynn said of the Market Center plans. “All the younger people can come to the office and use the gym, or come play in a basketball league or pickleball league, or do a little rock climbing, or have a drink with a friend.”

— Chris Malone Méndez