Yahoo to Move into Chronicle Building as Tech Office Grab in S.F. Intensifies

Yahoo is moving its San Francisco offices from the Financial District to the iconic San Francisco Chronicle building at Fifth and Mission, according to a post on Yahoo's Tumblr blog.

"We’re designing a cool, fun and beautiful space to inspire collaboration and innovation," writes Jacqueline Reses, Yahoo's chief development officer. "We love the symbolism of moving into the Chronicle building, as it personifies the digital revolution in how people around the world consume media."

The three-story building at 901 Mission St., which is still home to the Chronicle, used to feature two full floors of newspaper employees before the daily newspaper laid off large numbers of staffers due to a steep decline in advertising revenue, which in turn was largely thanks to Internet sites like Yahoo and classified ad sites like Craigslist.

Bloomberg's Dan Levy is reporting: "The Yahoo deal is for five years and 70,000 square feet (6,500 square meters), said a person with knowledge of the agreement who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Asking rents in the area averaged $44 a square foot in the second quarter, according to CBRE Group Inc."

Meanwhile, James Temple reported on The Tech Chronicles blog earlier this week that Yahoo is only one of many big tech companies searching for additional office space in the city, as a boom in the technology sector continues to drive the local economy.

"According to real estate sources, Zendesk is eyeing the market for about 125,000 square feet, just two years after doubling its headquarters on Market Street," wrote Temple. "Likewise, Practice Fusion is looking around for the same amount of space, Intuit is on the hunt for around 100,000 square feet and Microsoft is scouting for about 60,000 square feet."

Bloomberg's Levy had earlier reported that Google is also deep into serious expansion mode in the city: "Google agreed to expand its San Francisco office space at Morgan Stanley’s Hills Plaza building in what would be the city’s biggest lease transaction of 2013, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal.

"The planned 10-year lease for 350,000 square feet (32,500 square meters) will increase Google’s space at the waterfront location by 25 percent, said the person, who asked not to be named because the process is private. The Mountain View, California-based company will pay average rent of $65 a square foot, little changed from the rate in its current agreement, which expires in 2015, the person said. "