San Francisco Centre Mall Sells to Presidio Bay, Prado

After years of distress and tenant departures, the beleaguered San Francisco Centre mall has a buyer.

Presidio Bay Ventures and the Prado Group are purchasing the 1.2-million-square-foot Market Street property, the San Francisco Business Times reported. The sale price was not disclosed, but lenders seized the property with a foreclosure auction credit bid of $133 million — a steep tumble from its $1.2 billion value a decade ago.

Previous owners Westfield Corporation, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Brookfield Properties walked away from the property in 2023, owing $625.6 million loan from Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase and other commercial mortgage backed securities stakeholders.

Presidio and Prado’s purchase includes the portion of the mall where Bloomingdale’s once had its San Francisco flagship.

The transaction has not yet closed, and it’s expected that there will be a three-month due diligence period before the deal closes, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Pricing guidance for the property was reportedly set at $100 million.

Presidio Bay and Prado are planning to develop the mall, including converting some of the square footage into offices while maintaining some retail space, the San Francisco Standard reported. Housing is unlikely to be part of that effort as the mall lacks enough windows and natural light required by law for residences. The joint venture submitted the winning bid over other developers including TMG Partners and the San Francisco Recovery Funds, according to the Business Times.

When the mall was sold at foreclosure last fall, it was nearly empty, save for a few tenants. Lenders subsequently issued eviction notices to the remaining occupants and removed those tenants earlier this year after filing eviction lawsuits.

Tenants at the mall fled the retail center in droves after the pandemic, as foot traffic dropped off and anchor retailers like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s left the property. — Chris Malone Méndez