Bar closes escrow on SF building

The State Bar closed escrow on its new San Francisco building last month and plans to consolidate employees from three Bay Area locations beginning early next year.

Consolidation of the offices "is a key element in reducing our operating costs in order to meet the $20 fee reduction target in 1997," said executive director Herb Rosenthal.

The $22.5 million purchase price is expected to save the bar $1 million a year for the next 10 years. The purchase will be financed with the bar's $9 million building fund, sale of its current headquarters and a 5 percent interest rate on the balance.

The 13-story building, at 180 Howard St., is described by bar President Jim Towery as "a Chevrolet of office buildings and certainly not a Cadillac." Built in 1979, it has 205,000 square feet of office space.

The purchase marked the culmination of a two-year long search by real property experts who looked at 30 to 40 different properties.

The bar currently owns its headquarters at 555 Franklin St. in San Francisco and leases space at a nearby building and in San Mateo. The Franklin Street building will be sold.

The new location, which includes space which will be rented to other entities, requires some renovation. Eight employees from the San Mateo admissions office will move this month, but most bar workers will move next year.

Bar closes escrow on SF building

The State Bar closed escrow on its new San Francisco building last month and plans to consolidate employees from three Bay Area locations beginning early next year.

Consolidation of the offices "is a key element in reducing our operating costs in order to meet the $20 fee reduction target in 1997," said executive director Herb Rosenthal.

The $22.5 million purchase price is expected to save the bar $1 million a year for the next 10 years. The purchase will be financed with the bar's $9 million building fund, sale of its current headquarters and a 5 percent interest rate on the balance.

The 13-story building, at 180 Howard St., is described by bar President Jim Towery as "a Chevrolet of office buildings and certainly not a Cadillac." Built in 1979, it has 205,000 square feet of office space.

The purchase marked the culmination of a two-year long search by real property experts who looked at 30 to 40 different properties.

The bar currently owns its headquarters at 555 Franklin St. in San Francisco and leases space at a nearby building and in San Mateo. The Franklin Street building will be sold.

The new location, which includes space which will be rented to other entities, requires some renovation. Eight employees from the San Mateo admissions office will move this month, but most bar workers will move next year.