Bisnow Scoop: 201 Cal's New Owner
We're hearing it's Cornerstone.
The chosen buyer could drop around $550/SF, or $133M, for the Financial District high rise, sources tell us. Eastdil, which was tapped to market the 17-story building, did not respond to a request for comment. 201 might be a meaningful number for Cornerstone; in December KBS paid Cornerstone $121M for 201 Spear, a 247k SF tower two blocks from the incoming Transbay Transit Center project. Above, 201 Cal's lobby. Big-name tenants include law firm Cooper White & Cooper, Cassidy Turley, Canon, and Dow Jones. Born in 1980, the 242k SF building got a makeover in 2001.
It's one of three downtown buildings (188 Embarcadero and 60 Spear are the other two) put up for sale this spring by USAA and Ares. The portfolio soon saw a feeding frenzy from hungry investors with values going for well beyond whisper pricing. We were the first to report that Google Ventures is buying 188. The portfolio has come a long way since 2009, when Morgan Stanley relinquished five of the nine S.F. properties it scooped up for a record-setting amount in 2007 from the Blackstone Group. (Three of those five were 201, 188 and 60.)
