SAN FRANCISCO: Overhaul Gets Five Stars
The makeover of the 1920s PacBell building required Wilson Meany to rethink the entire site from the inside out. All the brain power paid off: 140 New Montgomery is now 90% leased and is Yelp's new home. We snapped WM's Seth Bland, who tells us it included cutting out obtrusive staircases to create an open layout tech tenants crave. It also replaced 1,300 steel, single-pane windows with energy-efficient, double-hung windows. And bike storage wasn't enough: what tenants wanted was a "bike spa" with showers and locker rooms. Yelp occupies nine floors (110k SF, with 115 SF/person). One perky perk: a barista, who pours some 600 cups of Joe a day (this quarter, it's Fourbarrell Coffee). After 5pm, Yelp's keg area is the most popular spot in the building.
