What amount did Pinterest pay in 2020 to cancel a San Francisco office lease?

Pinterest paid US$89.5 million in 2020 to cancel a San Francisco office lease.

The payment ended Pinterest’s commitment to lease approximately 490,000 square feet at 88 Bluxome Street, a planned mixed-use development in the South of Market area. The office was near the company’s existing San Francisco headquarters, but the building had not yet been completed when Pinterest withdrew from the agreement.

The decision came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Pinterest was reconsidering how widely distributed its workforce should be. Instead of moving into the planned complex, the company said it would continue leasing its existing downtown buildings. The US$89.5 million was recorded as a one-time general and administrative expense in the third quarter of 2020.

The payment is sometimes confused with the much larger rent obligation Pinterest avoided. Reports said the original lease could have involved roughly US$440 million in noncancelable minimum payments if applicable contingencies had been satisfied; US$89.5 million was the termination payment itself.