Lincoln buys Saks Fifth Avenue building in Union Square

The Saks Fifth Avenue building in Union Square has a new owner now.

Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co. has acquired the corner lot at 384 Post Street, in a joint venture with Cara Investment, San Francisco Business Times reported. The sale price and identity of the seller were not released, but public records show the previous owner of the building was California Union Square LP.

The 131,000-square-foot building has been home to Saks Fifth Avenue since the retailer signed a 25-year lease for the property in 1991. That deal included five 10-year renewal options, the first of which Saks acted on in 2017, extending its stay through 2027.

According to legal filings, California Union Square had been in an extended negotiation with Saks to settle what the rent in the extended lease should be. The owners said a fair market rate for use of the building would be $13.91 million annually, while the retailer countered with an offer of $6.25 million. In the end, an arbitrator sided with Saks and the decision was upheld by an appellate court and affirmed by a trial court in 2020.

Lincoln Property Co. owns multiple properties across the country, including a 19-story office building located at 350 Bush Street in Belden Place.

Lincoln Property is also in the process of redeveloping an office complex in Baldwin Hills. Along with Clarion Partners, the firm plans to add a 329,000-square-foot office building next to the property’s existing 152,000-square-foot office complex. The team purchased the 7-acre complex in 2020 for $169 million.

On the other side of the country, Sak Fifth Avenue owner Hudson’s Bay Company has joined up with WeWork to convert some of its Saks department store space into co-working locations. The new venture has been dubbed SaksWork.

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