Twitter Is Latest Bay Area Tech Firm To Expand HQ Despite Remote Work Adoption
Bay Area tech giants continue to show signs of confidence in the area’s office rebound, with Apple, Meta and now Twitter inking deals to expand their regional footprints.
The social media app has renewed and expanded its headquarters in San Francisco, signing a deal this month to increase its footprint by about 80K SF, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Twitter now occupies nearly 900K SF across two buildings at the 1.1M SF Market Square office complex.
This month’s deal is for the sixth floor at 1355 Market St., a space previously used by online marketplace Thumbtack, which has been downsizing since the onset of the pandemic. Twitter now leases space across six floors at 1355 Market St. and additional space at the neighboring 1 10th St. building, where the company has listed about 100K SF available for sublease, according to the San Francisco Business Times.
“Flexing our offices is consistent with our real estate and workplace strategy. At times we may extend our decision to sublease floors, while other times we may take them back to use as our own. This strategy is about providing us with maximum flexibility for our future real estate needs,” the company told the Chronicle.
This marks the second office expansion for Twitter during the pandemic; the company inked a deal in September for 66K SF at 1330 Broadway in downtown Oakland, according to the Chronicle. Twitter has a third Bay Area base in San Jose.
Twitter was among technology companies that announced permanent remote work strategies for employees after the onset of the pandemic, with former CEO Jack Dorsey telling employees in May 2020 they can work from home forever, according to the Washington Post.
Like Twitter, Apple’s ongoing remote work strategy hasn’t kept the firm from expanding its footprint. The company indefinitely delayed formal return-to-office plans late last year, though it still intends to increase its already sizable Silicon Valley presence. Facebook’s parent company, Meta, is no different: the company is behind what is being touted as the largest private sector lease in the U.S. in 2021.
Though the omicron variant of the coronavirus prompted firms to push back office reopening plans, tenant demand increased by 250K SF during the fourth quarter, according to a JLL report, with more than 30 new tenants looking for office space in the city.
