Showplace Square, once a symbol of San Francisco’s office market uncertainty, is gradually re-emerging as an artificial intelligence hub, as Amazon Robotics is expected to join a wave of AI and robotics startups filling former Airbnb- and Zynga-era offices in the neighborhood on the southern edge of SoMa and Potrero Hill.
After months of quietly scouting sites across San Francisco and the East Bay — including along the Central Waterfront and in Oakland — the Massachusetts-based robotics division of e-commerce giant Amazon is in the final rounds of negotiating a major lease at 650 Townsend St., according to multiple real estate market participants who have been tracking the company’s moves. The lease would entail 250,000 square feet, with the deal expected to close in the coming weeks. The term of the contract is not known.
The deal was described as a direct lease, with the building’s owner, Beacon Capital Partners, currently working to terminate existing contracts with tenants who have vacated the building and want to sublease their spaces, including Airbnb, the real estate insiders said. Beacon did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment…