(SAN FRANCISCO) – The San Francisco office of Hines, the international real estate firm, and New York based Sterling American Property Inc., joint owners of 120 Montgomery Street in downtown San Francisco, announced today the completion of a $30 million building renovation and the renaming of the property to 100 Montgomery.
The 25-story, 430,000-square-foot building was originally designed by Wilbur D. Peugh in the early 1950s as the Equitable Life Building at 120 Montgomery Street and is considered a historically significant structure by the City of San Francisco planners and the local preservation community.
At the time of its opening in 1955, the Equitable Life Building set the standard for the modern San Francisco skyscraper featuring full air conditioning, the latest in high-speed “operatorless” elevators, fluorescent lighting fixtures and acoustical ceiling treatment.
The building’s dynamic façade featured marble cladding, stainless steel window mullions and decorative aluminum spandrels with a three dimensional art-deco motif.
In January 2006, the Hines/Sterling acquisition of 120 Montgomery Street marked the beginning of a 36-month redevelopment plan for the building.
Over the previous 50 years, the building’s façade had slowly deteriorated and when Hines/Sterling took ownership, the aluminum spandrel panels were corroding, the marble cladding was cracking, and there was a protective pedestrian scaffold over the sidewalk in place for several years that shielded passerby’s from spalling marble fragments.
Working closely with the San Francisco Planning Department, Hines, Sterling and the world renowned design firm of Robert A.M. Stern Architects designed a new building façade and lobby while carefully preserving the historic character of the building.
The signature component of the renovation is the new lobby, which is carved into the building at the prominent corner of Montgomery and Sutter Streets, and defined by a dramatic elliptical wall of structural glass.
The renovation also included a new state-of-the art crystallized glass panel façade system—the first of its kind on the West Coast—over-cladding the failing marble; refurbished exterior metal including the stainless steel window mullions and decorative aluminum panels; the renovation and preservation of the building’s existing lobby on Montgomery Street; refinished elevator cabs; and new retail storefronts.
Kendall/Heaton Associates of Houston, Texas, was architect-of-record.
 “The preservation of buildings from our recent past is one of the most important obligations facing all of us who are concerned with the future of our cities,” said Robert A.M. Stern.
“The challenge is not only to know which buildings to save, but in saving them, how to make them work for the future.
It is a privilege to help reinvent this landmark office building for the 21st century.”
“It was truly an honor to work with the talented professionals at Robert A.M. Stern Architects – in this case, completing the fifth successful repositioning of a commercial office building with Hines in the San Francisco Bay Area,” stated Sterling American Property Senior Vice President of Asset Management Robert Bergman.
“The feedback we’ve received on 100 Montgomery has been great, and we are very pleased with the end result. The building operates as a new one, its historic character has been carefully preserved, and the new corner entrance and retail storefronts have a terrific impact at the street level. With the protective scaffolding finally gone, this important San Francisco street corner feels better than ever,” said Hines Senior Vice President Paul Paradis.
Hines/Sterling has registered 100 Montgomery for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-Existing Buildings (LEED-EB®) program, sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the nation’s leading non-profit authority for green buildings.
Hines/Sterling is also seeking ENERGY STAR® certification for 100 Montgomery from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Reduced energy consumption and other operational savings at the building have been achieved through many avenues including recycling and composting; a green cleaning program; replacing incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent lamps; and installing bike racks to promote green commute options.
Sterling American Property Inc,a real estate investment affiliate of Sterling Equities and American Securities, LP, backs its entrepreneurial real estate investment approach with a 36-year history of national real estate development, acquisition and asset management experience.
Since 1991, its five consecutive real estate funds have invested in more than $4.5 billion in assets in 43 states, often in conjunction with strong regional joint venture partners.
Today, focused on acquiring multifamily and commercial product, New York-based Sterling American Property Inc. is recognized for its ability to respond quickly and with entrepreneurial agility to opportunities and market changes. For more information, go to http://www.sterlingamerican.com.
Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes more than 1,100 properties representing approximately 457 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments.
In San Francisco, Hines owns and/or manages 5.7 million square feet of office space.
With offices in more than 100 cities in 16 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $25.6 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.