Reddit leaving Mid-Market neighborhood

Reddit is moving its headquarters out of San Francisco’s Mid-Market, becoming the latest tech company to depart in another blow to the neighborhood’s economic vitality.

The popular social network leased 47,000 square feet at 303 Second St. in South of Market, a spokesperson confirmed to The Chronicle. Reddit is downsizing from its current 78,000-square-foot officeat 1455 Market St. The company is subleasing the space from Block, formerly Square, in a deal that expires in September.

Like many tech firms, Reddit implemented a flexible work policy in October 2020 that allows workers to be fully remote or in an office part-time. As a result, Reddit said it is reimagining its offices for more flexibility and to support in-person gatherings and daily work.

The company has over 1,800 global employees and around 450 in the Bay Area. Reddit fired an unspecified number of workers in January after performance reviews. Reddit said the cuts were not layoffs and roles would be backfilled and that it was still hiring.

The long troubled MidMarket and Civic Center areas have been grappling with the absence of thousands of workers due to remote work. City office workers are generally there only three days a week. Homelessness, drug use and dirty streets have long sparked safety concerns.

A former Bank of America data center, 1455 Market St. was transformed into one of the top tech offices in the city in the last decade, becoming the global headquarters of Uber, Block and Reddit, and hosting a WeWork outpost on the lower floors.

All of that is ending amid the turmoil of remote work.

Block, the financial tech company led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, isn’t renewing its lease that expires in September and no longer has a designated headquarters.

Uber moved out for a gleaming new facility in Mission Bay that is part of the Warriors arena project and listed all its 1455 Market St. space for sublease. WeWork’s facility has also closed and is no longer listed on its website.

With the departure of Reddit, Block, Uber and WeWork, most of the 1 million-square-foot 1455 Market St. will soon be empty.

A block away, Twitter is being sued for allegedly not paying rent at its 1355 Market St. headquarters. After Elon Musk’s chaotic takeover, around 70 percent of the company’s 7,500 workers have been laid off or fired, and the company had unsuccessfully sought to sublease much of its offices.

One element of uncertainty has been resolved: 1355 Market St. owners Shorenstein and JPMorgan Chase paid off a $400 million loan on the building in January, meeting their deadline, The Real Deal reported.

Hudson Pacific Properties, which owns 1455 Market St. with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Kilroy Realty owns 303 Second St. and didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.