Roger Fields Grabs Another San Francisco Office Tower

Roger Fields’ Peninsula Land and Capital firm is growing its holdings in San Francisco with another office takeover.

The Palo Alto-based investor is in talks to acquire the 505 Montgomery Street building in Chinatown from an affiliate of German asset manager DWS, the San Francisco Business Times reported. The deal purportedly hasn’t closed yet, but the agreement could place the 24-story, 344,000-square-foot tower’s value at upwards of $100 million.

DWS listed 505 Montgomery for sale in March after two decades of ownership. The approximately $300-per-square-foot price was believed to be contingent on whether or not the building’s largest tenant, law firm Latham & Watkins, would extend its 117,000-square-foot lease past 2028. The status of the lease remains unknown, though sources close to the deal told the Business Times that the company is expected to stay.

Fields’ forthcoming acquisition is Peninsula Land’s second office building purchase in the city.

In 2023, Fields bought 550 California Street, just across the street from 505 Montgomery, from Wells Fargo for $40.5 million. The 365,000-square-foot building was totally empty, with the deal working out to about $115 per square foot. At the time, San Francisco’s office market was humming back to life in the wake of the pandemic, though the city still maintains a roughly 36 percent office vacancy rate.

Under Fields’ ownership, 550 California Street has bounced back tremendously, going from zero to 82 percent occupancy in two years — a markedly better position than the average San Francisco office tower. Earlier this month, Fields said on X that 550 California recently completed its 50th lease.

The $100-million-plus sale price at 505 Montgomery would make it one of the priciest post-pandemic office investment sales in San Francisco. In April, Blackstone and DivcoWest dropped over $111 million for 199 Fremont Street in the Financial District, and earlier in June, Flynn Properties closed on Market Center at 575 Market Street for $177 million.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, Peninsula Land closed last month on a $22.5 million bid for 3003 Oak Road in Walnut Creek. The deal for the 210,000-square-foot office building worked out to about $107 per square foot. Fields told the Business Times that Peninsula Land would keep the building as a long-term investment and offer competitive rent rates, similar to its approach at 550 California.

— Chris Malone Méndez