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State Bar Sells Building in San Francisco
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The State Bar of California announced yesterday that it sold the building in which its San Francisco headquarters is located, and that it will remain in the building as a tenant for “approximately” a year.
Located at 180 Howard Street, in the Financial District, the 13-story building was sold to Ridge Capital Investors for $54 million. The State Bar purchased it in 1998 for $22.5 million.
Its statement said:
“After establishing a hybrid work model during the COVID-19 pandemic that meant fewer people in the office daily, and in light of repeated concerns expressed by the Legislature about the State Bar’s ownership of the San Francisco building, the State Bar initiated the sale of its headquarters in 2021.”
It added: “The sale is expected to shore up the State Bar financially. While a State Audit found that the State Bar needed an increase in attorney licensing fees to meet its baseline public protection responsibilities, SB 40, this year’s licensing fee bill, contained no such fee increase. It did, however, grant the State Bar authority to use proceeds from 180 Howard’s sale to address operational needs while the Legislature considers a fee increase for 2025.”
State Bar Executive Director Leah Wilson commented:
“The sale of 180 Howard was a prudent and necessary action on our part in these post-pandemic and precarious financial times. This deal helps our finances by allowing us to remain whole through 2024. It also allows us to remain in the building we have called home for 25 years.”
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