Tech Companies Seek More Space, Dip into Industrial and Retail Spaces

Posted by admin  at February 5th, 2014

San Francisco’s retail market is healthy, however tech companies are seeking more space for expansion. The Bay Area is traditionally low on space for new retail development.

The highest areas for rent in San Francisco are Union Square and Downtown, where vacancies remained near 3 percent. Anchor stores that offered discounted items, such as Target, are flourishing in under-deserved areas of the city. Canadian firm, Avison Young, expects 20,000 new multi-residential units to be made available in the next 36 months. Residents will be housed above street level to make room for street level retail which will boost neighborhoods such as Mid-Market. These units could help serve the growing population of technology professionals who can afford higher rents in the city.

Technology companies are now looking to San Francisco’s empty and abandoned industrial spaces to set up shop. These major tech company offers typically offer highly collaborative, open, and modern workplaces – features that could easily be implemented with a large industrial space. Unfortunately, converting these properties for office use requires the implementation of rezoning. Some companies, like Pinterest, have been successful in this conversion with their new offices.

Source: http://www.globest.com/news/12_789/sanfrancisco/industrial/Tech-Demand-Overflows-to-Industrial-Retail-342416.html