VC Neil Mehta buys seven storefronts in SF’s Pacific Heights

Affiliates controlled by the founder of GreenOaks Capital have gone on a commercial buying binge in San Francisco’s tony Pacific Heights.

Limited liability companies tied to Neil Mehta, managing partner of the locally based venture capital firm, have scooped up seven buildings with sidewalk storefronts along three blocks of upper Fillmore Street, between Clay and Pine streets, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Many of the sellers were mom-and-pop landlords who owned the low-slung buildings for decades.

Mehta began his buying spree in January, when Fillmore Reserve, an affiliate tied to the San Francisco resident, bought the defunct Clay Theater and a building next door for $11 million. 

The century-old Clay at 2261 Fillmore, and the commercial building at 2259 Fillmore now occupied by global apparel retailer Alice & Olivia, last traded in 2008 for $4.8 million.

Out-of-state LLCs tied to Mehta, with Cody Allen listed as their agent, then bought five more buildings in the immediate neighborhood. 

On March 15, an LLC known as North Room bought a two-story, 3,700-square-foot building at 2220 Fillmore with apartments over a ground-floor Starbucks for nearly $5 million, or $1,351 per square foot. The seller was the locally based Prado Group.

On April 3, an LLC known as Pointed Blue bought a 7,300-square-foot building next door at 2208 Fillmore for $9.7 million, or $1,329 per square foot. The two-story building, with apartments up top, has ground-floor storefronts that include 40-year tenant La Mediterranee restaurant, a jewelry pop-up business and a clothing boutique.

That day, an LLC known as Shaded Flame bought the two-story, 3,800-square-foot building across the street at 2207 Fillmore for $4.3 million, or $1,132 per square foot. The vacant ground-floor shop had been occupied by French luxury cosmetics retailer L’Occitane, which closed after the pandemic.

The seller of the buildings at 2207 and 2208 Fillmore was Acadia Realty Trust, based in New York State, which declined to comment on the deals, according to the Chronicle.

On April 8, an LLC known as Temperate Lands picked up a three-story, mixed-use building at 2213 Fillmore for $5.6 million. Its ground-floor shop is occupied by Joe & the Juice. The seller was Prado Group.

On April 9, an LLC known as White Birches bought a 6,900-square-foot, mixed-use building at 2001 Fillmore for $5.5 million. The bottom floor of the Victorian building at Fillmore and Pine streets houses Noosh, a Mediterranean restaurant.

An unidentified real estate expert told the Chronicle that whoever bought the buildings along Fillmore paid from $2 million to $3 million above their market values. Local real estate experts also said Mehta appears bent on boosting the quality of retail stores near his Pacific Heights home.

Two years ago, a trust tied to Mehta’s GreenOaks Capital bought a 115-year-old, nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom mansion at 2899 Pacific Avenue, blocks away from the Clay Theater, for $17.6 million.

The Information, a tech-industry business publication, reported last month that Mehta planned to “spend tens of millions of dollars” on real estate near the Clay Theater through a nonprofit he owns, citing anonymous sources.

The news site, which first reported the Mehta theater deal, didn’t list other properties Mehta was considering, or how many. But it said his plan was to replace some of the chain retail stores on the corridor with locally owned shops and restaurants.

— Dana Bartholomew

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