Virtual-first company leases floor of new SF building for “library”

The only big office tower completed in San Francisco last year has its first tenant – a virtual-first company that plans to use its 20,000 square feet as its first “library.”

Thumbtack, a website that connects users with various local service providers, leased the full 13th floor of 415 Natoma, the San Francisco Chronicle said. The 640,000-square-foot tower is part of a four-acre, mixed-use development dubbed 5M that’s going up at Fifth and Mission streets.

The floor won’t be a typical office for Thumbtack, which switched to a “virtual first” work model.

“We’re intentionally not building an ‘office,’” Thumbtack Executive Jelena Djordjevic said. “We’re excited to introduce a brand new, purpose-built environment to connect in-person — be that through an in-person activity or after work happy hour — or simply to enjoy a change of scenery day-to-day.”

The space won’t have conference rooms. Instead, half will be used for social gatherings with lounge areas, an open kitchen and a separate bar. The rest will be used for “quiet, heads-down work” and will have dedicated Zoom meeting rooms. Thumbtack is moving from its home at 1355 Market Street.

Thumbtack’s deal suggests San Francisco’s fluid office market is trying to find its footing after almost two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nick Slonek, managing director of commercial real estate brokerage Avison Young, said.

“The confusion around what the future of space will look like is one of the governors of the lack of activity in the market right now,” Slonek said. “Thumbtack calling it a library is evidence of that.”

He expects office leasing to remain slow until bigger companies like Google and Facebook make their full return to the office.

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