A historic office building on Market Street in San Francisco has sold for $17.2 million, a price that is 60 percent lower than its pre-pandemic value. Fountainhead Development purchased the property, known locally as the “Flatiron Building,” from Invesco, which had acquired it in 2011 for $51 million.
The sale amounts to about $354 per square foot, compared to over $1,100 per square foot more than ten years ago. This transaction is Fountainhead’s second purchase in San Francisco after acquiring 795 Folsom Street last year for $48.3 million.
Located across from the San Francisco Centre mall—which has faced significant tenant losses and loan default issues—the sale reflects broader trends in the city’s commercial real estate market. Recent data indicates that 67 percent of office buildings in San Francisco have sold below their previous values over the past two years.
The ground floor of 800 Market Street previously housed a flagship store for fashion brand Diesel until its closure in 2021. In 2018, WeWork launched its “HQ by WeWork” program at this location, offering private offices for mid-sized companies. By 2023, WeWork had terminated several downtown leases, including at this address.
Fountainhead plans to introduce a long-term public-facing use for the ground-floor retail space. Wyatt Cerny, vice president of real estate at Fountainhead, told the Chronicle: “We love this building — frankly, it’s one of the most unique office buildings that I’ve been in.” He noted that an “extensive renovation” under previous ownership modernized the structure more than a decade ago.
“It’s got the flatiron shape. You go in and there are creative offices that have perfect floor plate sizes — 5,600 square feet,” Cerny said.
Cerny also expressed hopes to help revitalize the intersection of Market, Ellis and Stockton Streets—a corner where major retailers like Forever 21 and Disney have closed stores since 2019 and left properties vacant. “We want to bring life and energy back to that corner,” he said.
