Autodesk to move HQ from Marin County to SF

An outflow of corporate headquarters from San Francisco has reversed course, with Autodesk leaving its San Rafael hub of 30 years and heading to the city.

The construction and engineering software firm will close its headquarters in Marin County and consolidate into an office it leases at One Market Street, in the Embarcadero, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

There will be no layoffs or losses associated with the move, an Autodesk spokesperson said.

Autodesk, which also leases space at Pier 9 in San Francisco, designated One Market Plaza as its new corporate headquarters in May. In October, it will end its presence in San Rafael.

The 578 employees at the San Rafael office at 111 McInnis Parkway will be reassigned to One Market, per a state regulatory filing. Most will work on a hybrid schedule and will not have mandatory “weekly in-office days,” per the filing. Only five employees will be office-based.

The company leased 116,000 square feet in San Rafael, which will expire in December 2024, according to its May annual report. The 111 McInnis Parkway property is owned by JHS Properties, public records show.

Autodesk leases 284,000 square feet at One Market, owned by Paramount Group, and 41,000 square feet at Pier 9.

The company, which employs 12,600 worldwide, said it was reducing its leases by 20 percent.

In January, Autodesk closed its brand new 117,000-square-foot office at 300 Mission Street in San Francisco, which had only been open for about eight months. It also closed an office at 3900 Civic Center in San Rafael.

Iconiq Capital, a wealth management firm that serves tech billionaires including Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey, subleased most of the 300 Mission offices.

Office vacancy in San Francisco was 24.2 percent in the second quarter, according to brokerage CBRE.

Tech companies during the pandemic have led the Bay Area in shifting to remote work, with dozens of companies downsizing their corporate offices, and companies such as Old Navy, Tesla, TaskRabbit and Zoom either leaving the state or closing altogether.

In June, financial tech firm Block chose not to renew its lease for 470,000 square feet at its former headquarters in Mid-Market.

Other companies to abandon their headquarters include a16z venture capital firm and Coinbase Global, which scuttled its base in San Francisco early last year.

— Dana Bartholomew