Giant, empty 6x6 mall sold to developers

The empty Mid-Market mall dubbed 6x6—a $150 million project that has sat vacant since construction completed in 2016—might have a new lease on life. Alexandria Real Estate Equities and TMG Partners will purchase the property together. Neither company has publicly announced the acquisition, and both have declined to comment, but a person familiar with the deal, who asked not to be identified, confirmed the purchase to Curbed SF.

The 250,000-square-foot, glass-and-steel behemoth, with its distinctive double-helix escalator design visible from the sidewalk at 945 Market Street, never attracted commercial tenants, sitting almost entirely vacant.

Developer Cypress Equities took several steps to try to filling the void, including trying to convert much of the building into office use. But aside from underground parking, little signs of revenue or retail life emerged at the troubled property.

Google even lists the shopping center as “permanently closed,” posing an almost chicken-and-egg-like riddle about whether a site that never opens can truly close at any point.

Nobody close to the deal would yet confirm the sales price or future plans for the site.

Alexandria is based in Pasadena and leases to Bay Area tenants like Google and Stanford. TMG is based in SF and owns buildings like One Market and 1000 Van Ness.