#property-assessment

#property-assessment

After no candidate received a majority of the vote in last month's special election for assessor, the race now comes down to a Dec. 30 runoff between one contender highly qualified for the job and one seeking to politicize the office. We urge voters not to be sucked in by some of the campaign diversions amplified during the runoff. Instead, look for a candidate to replace retiring Assessor Larry Stone who will focus on doing the job.

The $210 million price is roughly half, or 47.7% below, the property's assessed value of $401.9 million. The new owners paid 31.2% less than the $305.1 million that the seller, Clarion Partners, paid for the site in 2015. The deal shows that even the presence of tech company Applied Materials as a tenant doesn't guarantee immunity from the economic maladies that have come to afflict the Bay Area office market.