Developer Kilroy Realty Corporation has agreed to purchase San Francisco's grower-owned wholesale flower mart in SoMa, one of only five such marts in the country, for approximately $27 million. The flower mart's 1.9-acre site on the corner of 6th and Brannan streets is only a few blocks away from other Kilroy developments, like William McDonough's 333 Brannan, which was sucked up by Dropbox earlier this year before construction was even completed. Kilroy also owns 360 Third Street, home to NBC Bay Area, among other tenants, and the upcoming SOM-designed 350 Mission, to be occupied by Salesforce. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. If the rest of Kilroy's office-heavy portfolio is any indication, the mart—which was once touted by Martha Stewart Living as the best of its kind—could be in for a not-so-rosy future.
The 58-year-old flower mart has been the target of many other buyers, from the Academy of Art University to developer Zappettini Properties, which filed a proposal to build a 567,000-square-foot-office building on one portion of the site back in 2012. Redevelopment, however, has always been tricky because the marketplace has dozens of owners, all of whom are part of the San Francisco Flower Growers' Association, and is a profitable business that generates $90 million in sales annually. No details have been given on the future of the growers' association or the vendors who are located in the mart. Know something? Send in a tip.
· Kilroy Realty Executes Agreement to Buy Central SoMa Development Opportunity [Kilroy Realty]
· Office Proposed for Part of SF Flower Mart [SF Business Times]
· 333 Brannan Gets Pre-Leased [Curbed SF]
· Academy of Art University to Purchase Flower Mart Over Merchants' Dead Bodies [Curbed SF]
· Past coverage of the San Francisco Flower Mart [Curbed SF]
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