Reddit to relocate HQ from SF’s Mid-Market to South of Market

When it comes to its San Francisco Mid-Market office headquarters, Reddit’s going to shed it with a move to smaller digs in South of Market.

The social media network will slice 40 percent off its corporate footprint after leasing a 47,000-square-foot office at 303 Second Street in SoMa, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing a company spokesperson. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.

Reddit is downsizing from its current 78,000-square-foot office at 1455 Market Street, which it subleases from Block, once known as Square, in a deal that expires in September.

Block, the financial tech company led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, isn’t renewing its lease this fall and no longer has a designated headquarters. Uber moved out for a new facility in Mission Bay, and has listed all its 1455 Market Street offices for sublease. WeWork’s lower floors offices have closed. 

With the departure of Reddit, Block, Uber and WeWork, most of the 1 million-square-foot 1455 Market Street owned by Hudson Pacific Properties will soon be empty.

Reddit is reducing its real estate presence in San Francisco three years after the company announced a flexible work policy in late 2020 according to the San Francisco Business Times.

“Moving forward, teams and team members will have flexibility to explore where they work: in the office, remotely or a combination of the two,” the company said at the time. 

The company is downsizing within a 10-story building at 303 Second Street owned by Kilroy Realty, which also counts DoorDash among its tenants. 

Others, including DocuSign and Yelp, have made similar reductions, while non-tech firms have also downsized. 

The law firm Shartsis Friese plans to vacate its home of 30 years at One Maritime Plaza in San Francisco’s Financial District next year, according to the Business Times. The firm is now working on designing its new space at 425 Market Street, which is just over half the size of its current office.

The exit by Reddit from Mid-Market adds more strain on the struggling neighborhood.

A block away from its current headquarters, Twitter is being sued for allegedly not paying rent at its former headquarters at 1355 Market Street, according to the Chronicle

In the wake of Elon Musk’s corporate takeover, 70 percent of the company’s 7,500 workers have been laid off or fired, and the company had unsuccessfully tried to sublease much of its offices. 

One element of uncertainty has been resolved: 1355 Market Street owners Shorenstein and JPMorgan Chase paid off a $400 million loan on the building in January, meeting their deadline, The Real Deal reported.

Los Angeles-based Hudson Pacific Properties, which owns 1455 Market Street with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, didn’t immediately respond to a Chronicle request for comment. Kilroy Realty, also based in Los Angeles, owns 303 Second Street and didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

— Dana Bartholomew