785 Market Street
Down the Street from the CityPlace parcels which were foreclosed upon last week, the owners of the historic Humbolt Building at 785 Market Street have slipped into default on $13.3 million interest only loan which is currently in forbearance until May first.
Designed by Meyer & O’Brien in 1905, delayed by the great quake in 1906, and completed in 1908, the Humboldt building rises 19 stories and is topped by a wedding cake dome.
According to a tipster, while expenses for the building have been rising, revenues have been declining despite the surge in demand for commercial space south of Market.
CityPlace Parcels Lost To Foreclosure [SocketSite]
The Humboldt Building (785 Market Street) [785marketstreet.com]

8 thoughts on “Historic Humboldt Building (785 Market Street) Slips Into Default”
  1. I had an office there. Great location, and a decent one for small firms. Great light, operable windows. It’s definitely got some old building problems though, like teensy elevators and odd floor plates.
    I often thought it would make some cool residential space.

  2. Such a shame that these historical buildings have to go into default. It goes to show that the so called tech recovery is very uneven. There are still a lot of vacant retail/commercial office space in SF and City government must do more by reducing the myriad of regulations in order to attract businesses and outside investment.
    Look at the CityPlace failed development. You would think the place would be taken up pretty fast given its proximity to the Mid-Market area but it went back to the bank.

  3. Such a shame that these historical buildings have to go into default. It goes to show that the so called tech recovery is very uneven. There are still a lot of vacant retail/commercial office space in SF and City government must do more by reducing the myriad of regulations in order to attract businesses and outside investment.
    Look at the CityPlace failed development. You would think the place would be taken up pretty fast given its proximity to the Mid-Market area but it went back to the bank.

  4. Not sure anything will come of it, as Sterling Bank (co-owned by Seligman) I believe has the debt on it. Also, they purposely did not lease it up in wait of the recovery. Something else going on there….

  5. “reducing the myriad of regulations in order to attract businesses and outside investment”
    Oh, great, another “small government” fan. The economy collapsed, remember? It’s a tired building with small floor plates.

  6. Live Smart:
    Yes there is plenty of vacant office space in San Francisco, but the city also currently has one of the lowest office vacancy rates in the nation. It was at 9.3% at the end of 2011, vs. 23.6% in 2008, and 25.5% in 2009. Also, 2 million square feet of office space has already been leased in downtown SF so far this year.
    As for retail space? As of last month, SF had the lowest retail vacancy rate in the nation, at just 3.6%

  7. There is no office space inventory in SOMA and planned buildings whether new construction or renovation won’t be available for at least 16 months.
    I LOVE this building and always associate it with Gail Wynand’s building in Ayn Rand’s novel “The Fountainhead”.
    A smart investor is bound to pick up this architectural GEM and I would love to market it to my clients.

  8. In 1981 a friends dad paid 3 mil for it. C K Lee.
    Listed it for 8 mil in about 85 it sold for 13 mil to pac union. cool bathrooms.

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