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History

The original Patson entity, Patson Development Company, was formed by Ian Paget and David Harrison in 1984.

Patson has built a strong track record in the acquisition, development, and management of high-quality retail, office, and industrial properties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Patson has experience in every phase of the process including entitlements, design, financing, construction management, leasing, and property management.

Soon after Patson’s founding, it entered into a joint venture with London Merchant Securities for the development of an office property in San Francisco’s financial district, beginning a relationship with LMS that continues to this day.

Patson has successfully pursued a strategy of identifying high quality properties in prime infill locations. It typically looks for properties where it can add value through development, refurbishment, or repositioning.

One of Patson's main strengths has been its ability to attract investment partners of solid financial standing. Funding for Patson’s investment properties has come from a series of joint ventures and partnerships with experienced and able investors, including London Merchant Securities plc, AMEC plc, GE Capital, Vornado Realty Trust, Buchanan Capital Partners, Hanson plc, Heron International, SPP, London & Edinburgh Trust plc, Cortina Investments, LMS Capital plc, and Kyle Stewart.

Following are brief descriptions of some of the projects undertaken by Patson Companies over the years:

235 Pine Street, San Francisco. 235 Pine is a 25 story office building in San Francisco’s financial district. Completed in 1990, the property was developed by a partnership between Patson, London & Edinburgh Trust (now SPP real estate) and funding partner C. Itoh.
Symphony Towers, San Diego. Patson had an advisory role on behalf of the owning entity in the acquisition and development of this 34-story twin-tower office and hotel development which occupies an entire city block in downtown San Diego.
1440 Chapin Avenue, Burlingame, California. This 45,000 sq.ft. office building occupies a prime location in Burlingame, an affluent suburb of San Francisco located near the San Francisco Airport. It was developed by Patson under a joint venture with Kyle Stewart Ltd and Felix Fenston Trust. The property was sold in 1986 to Cortina Investments Ltd. and continues to be managed by Patson Management Company. more on this property...
Bridgeway Technology Park, Newark, CA. This 43 acre industrial estate was developed by Patson under a joint venture with Heron Properties and was sold in 1987.
AMEC-Patson joint venture. In 1989, Patson entered into a joint venture with AMEC Developments known as AMEC Patson LLC. El Camino Promenade, Fairfield Center, and Calaveras Landing were developed via the AMEC Patson joint venture.
El Camino Promenade, San Mateo, California. Patson purchased a vacant grocery store building in a prime location from the grocery store operator, and redeveloped the property under the AMEC Patson JV into a 52,000 sq.ft. promotional retail center anchored by Barnes & Noble bookstore and Wherehouse Records. The property was sold in 2004 to a local investor.
North American Life Insurance Company. In the mid-1980's Patson acquired two investments for NAL both leased to high tech tenants in Silicon Valley and advised on the disposal of two properties also leased to high tech tenants.
Fairfield Center, Fairfield, California. This was an 8-acre property with commercial zoning which Patson purchased in partnership with AMEC and Burton Properties plc in 1990. Although the original intention was to build a neighborhood retail center, Patson was able to obtain a favorable zoning change to medium density residential and eventually sold the property to a senior housing developer.
Calaveras Landing, Union City, California. The AMEC-Patson joint venture undertook this development in partnership with Hanson. Originally a surplus cement works site owned by Hanson, the property was rezoned to retail and developed as a power center anchored by Home Depot and Food 4 Less. The property was sold to a group of Hollywood investors in 1991.
Ambassador Hotel site, Los Angeles, California. Patson had an advisory role on this property which was owned by AMEC outside the Amec-Patson joint venture. After reviewing multiple development options including a joint venture with Donald Trump, the property was sold to the L.A. School District in 2001.
3700 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco. Patson purchased a historic brick building in partnership with London Merchant Securities and carried out a refurbishment and change of use which resulted in a 30,000 sq.ft. retail building with internal parking for 90 cars. The property was sold to Vornado Realty Trust in 2006. more on this property...
100 Grant, San Francisco. This is a prime retail property in San Francisco’s Union Square shopping district with a significant upper floor office component. Patson bought the property in 2002 in partnership with Security Capital, which morphed into GE Capital when Security Capital was acquired by GE Capital. Patson negotiated an early termination of a lease covering the majority of the retail portion of the property and carried out a redevelopment of the property which included a major seismic upgrade. The retail space was subdivided and leased to a variety of upscale retail tenants including Ann Fontaine, Tumi, Montblanc, Longchamp., Stuart Weitzman, and Borelli. 100 Grant was sold in 2007 to a neighboring property owner.
700 Townsend, San Francisco. Also known as the Sobel building, this property was a leasehold interest managed by Patson on behalf of Silicon Valley Bank, who had acquired it via foreclosure. Patson later purchased the leasehold from Silicon Valley Bank and was successful in leasing much of the formerly vacant space to technology related tenants before eventually selling the leasehold interest to the freeholder.
340 Pine, San Francisco. 340 Pine Street is a classic 1920’s vintage office building in a prime San Francisco financial district location. Home to Patson Development Company’s offices, the building has undergone a thorough remodeling and modernization since its acquisition by London Merchant Securities in 1989, with advisory and management services from Patson Management. 340 Pine was sold to Vornado Realty Trust in 2006 and then sold to Clint Reilly holdings in 2007.
AT&T Park, San Francisco. Patson advised the San Francisco Giants on the feasibility of adding a retail component to PacBell Park (now AT&T Park) during its development in 1996.
Patson Vornado LLC. In January 2006, Patson entered into a relationship with Vornado Realty Trust which had two major components: a) the purchase by Vornado from London Merchant Securities of the four investment properties noted immediately above, with management and advisory services from Patson Management, and b) the formation of a new vehicle known as Patson Vornado LLC, for the purpose of investment in value-added properties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Patson Vornado LLC went on to purchase two development properties, the Cannery in San Francisco and the Walnut Creek development site. Vornado also participated with Patson, Buchanan, and CalPERS in the purchase of the CSAA properties in San Francisco.
Barnes & Noble Building, Walnut Creek, California. This prime retail investment property was developed in partnership with London Merchant Securities beginning in 1993. It was sold to Vornado Realty Trust in 2006. more on this property...
Golden Gate Fields, Albany, California. Patson advised Ladbroke Racing Corporation on the real estate aspects of its purchase of this horse racing facility. The purchase was completed in 1989.
275 Sacramento, San Francisco. This is a 75,000 sq.ft. office and retail building occupying a prime location in San Francisco’s financial district. It was developed by Patson in partnership with London Merchant Securities, and it was sold to Vornado Realty Trust in 2006. more on this property...
The Cannery, San Francisco. This is a 110,000 retail and office building located in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf district. It was purchased by Patson Vornado LLC in 2007. more on this property...
Mt. Diablo Development Site, Walnut Creek, California. This is a prime retail development site located in Walnut Creek, near the Barnes & Noble building. It was purchased by Patson Vornado LLC in 2007. more on this property...
CSAA Portfolio, San Francisco. Patson acquired the 595,000 sq.ft. complex of buildings which serves as the headquarters for the California State Automobile Association via a join venture among Patson, Buchanan Street Partners, and Vornado. The Buchanan investment was made through Buchanan Urban Investors, which is an investment vehicle funded by CalPERS. more on this property...