Office Space Show Still Going On in San Francisco as Westcore Keeps Getting Bigger

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

The Bay Area office market just keeps on landing punches like it’s fighting for its life, and considering the past three or four years, you could say it is. Westcore, one of the area’s major players, recently acquired a massive campus out of foreclosure, which it is adding to an already impressive portfolio. The Concord Corporate Centre totals a whopping 347,000 square feet, distributed over two Class A office buildings, at 1320 and 1390 Willow Pass Road in Concord.

The deal comes in at $41 million for the office campu,s which is less than half what former owner Transwestern paid for it. In the meantime, Transwestern had to give the property back to the lender, which according to The San Francisco Business Times is a European Bank.

Westcore now manages a $3.9 billion portfolio of  industrial and office properties, including 550 buildings with more than 25 million square feet. The two buildings in Concord, one seven stories and the other 10 stories, are an addition that would prove beneficial to the area. Trevor Thorpe, the East Bay managing director for CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., was quoted by the newspaper as saying that Westcore’s policy of aggressive leasing will inspire the area’s market.

Vacancy in the office market still offers generous space for maneuvers, as 23.7 percent is up for grabs. The average asking rate stands around $21.50 per square foot, but those are not all Class A properties.