PG&E to sell San Francisco headquarters for $800 million

SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific, Gas and Electric Co. announced on Monday that it intends to sell its San Francisco headquarters for $800 million before the company sets up in Oakland.

In a news release, PG&E said it's selling 77 Beale Street and 245 Market Street to Hines Atlas US, a Delaware limited partnership. 

 PG&E is now seeking the California Public Utilities Commission's approval to return the net gain realized on the sale to PG&E customers.

PG&E said it remains on track for a phased move into its new headquarters at 300 Lakeside Drive in Oakland, beginning in the first half of 2022.  

The new Oakland headquarters uses space more efficiently for PG&E's workforce and provides greater flexibility in its layout and density, company officials said. 

In addition, commutes for most PG&E headquarters-based coworkers should be shorter and less impactful, with a majority living in the East Bay and with multiple transportation options serving the Lakeside Drive location, the company said.

PG&E also plans to consolidate two other East Bay satellite office locations—3401 Crow Canyon Road in San Ramon and 1850 Gateway Boulevard in Concord— into the new Oakland headquarters. 

 "We are working hard every day to make fundamental changes at PG&E and become the utility our customers expect and deserve," PG&E Corporation Chief Executive Officer Patti Poppe said in a statement. "We’ve made a commitment to keep customer costs as low as possible, and one way we’re following through on that is by selling non-core assets including real estate. This sale and relocation will achieve cost savings that directly help reduce customer bills. At the same time, it will give us an efficient and effective Bay Area workspace as we focus on delivering for all of the communities we serve."

PG&E is proposing to distribute up to $420 million to customers resulting from the gain of the sale over a five-year period to offset future rates.