Encore Capital Group has moved its headquarters into Ampersand — the first tenant to take space in former home of The San Diego Union-Tribune that was redeveloped into an office complex by the Casey Brown Co. with C.W. Driver Cos. as the general contractor.
The financial services group is leasing 95,000 square feet of the 340,000 square-foot campus that is one of the hottest commercial real estate projects to hit the market.
Encore Capital Group is taking the entire third floor of two buildings that were once the newsroom and pressroom buildings.
The company had been leasing seven floors in two other Mission Valley buildings.
“The Mission Valley area is undergoing an incredible renaissance,” said Mike Merle, managing vice president of human resources and facilities at Encore.
“Nine months ago, Encore saw this resurgence taking place and believed Ampersand provided an opportunity to create an exceptional work environment for our employees.”
Qdoba Mexican Eats will soon follow Encore into Ampersand, leasing 35,000 square feet on the third floor of the redeveloped campus.
The company will occupy the entire fourth floor of the newsroom building, renamed the Stack Building because of its shape.
The $40 million Ampersand redevelopment project took two years to complete.
“Last year, Encore Capital Group signed a lease in a partially-completed development with plenty of dust and dirt but they saw the historic bones of the project and they believed in the vision,” said Casey Brown. “This month, they moved into a beautifully completed project with exceptional amenities and outdoor spaces and now everyone can experience how special this project really is.”
Matt Carlson, Jeff Oesterblad and Ryan Grant of CBRE brokered the deal with Encore.
