SAN FRANCISCO — Union Investment has purchased a 556,319-square-foot office tower, located at 555 Mission St. in San Francisco, from Tishman Speyer for $446.5 million. The 33-story building has earned LEED Gold certified.

“In addition to the compelling quality of the building itself, 555 Mission St.’s location in one of North America’s strongest economic regions makes it a particularly sustainable investment for us,” says Volker Noack, member of the management team at Hamburg-based Union Investments Real Estate GmbH.

The property was purchased on behalf of the open-ended real estate fund Unilmmo: Europa, and is 88 percent leased to 12 tenants including anchor tenant Deloitte, an international consulting firm. Kohn Pederson Fox designed the property.

According to Colliers International, Class A buildings in San Francisco experienced positive absorption of 414,373 square feet in the first quarter of 2012.  555 Mission St. sits in the city’s Financial District, which is known to attract companies from the creative and technology industries

“The impressively dynamic development of the submarket should see 555 Mission St. benefiting from rising rents,” Noack adds. Overall weighted average rents for the Financial District in the first quarter of 2012 were $49.65 per square foot, up from $43.56 in the fourth quarter of 2011.

While Unilmmo: Europa’s main focus is Europe, the fund may invest up to 40 percent of its assets worldwide. As of June 30, 2011, office properties accounted for 60 percent of the firm’s total assets.

— Savannah Duncan