Golden Gate University had almost faced bankruptcy in 2023 and ended its law programme in 2024
Golden Gate University has sold its longtime downtown San Francisco campus for $31.6 million as the university moves out of the seven-storey property amid years of financial difficulties. The site at 546 Mission St. is now owned by Lincoln Property Company, which is proposing a new skyscraper on the property. Lincoln had previously provided Golden Gate University with a $21.9 million loan to help the university retire its existing debt on the campus. Golden Gate University had almost faced bankruptcy in 2023 and ended its law programme in 2024.
Because of the financial impact of the pandemic, in an August 2025 letter to the city’s planning department, university officials said they had been looking for a smaller location.
The loan was paid off as part of the sale, according to the university. Nicholas Bradley, the university’s chief of staff, said the university is “considering other options for real estate opportunities” and continues to look for a more permanent home for its academic programmes. The sale ends Golden Gate University’s presence at the Mission Street property, but the university itself continues to operate. Classes were moved for the start of the fall semester to Golden Gate University’s Academic Village at UC College of the Law San Francisco and to its satellite campus near Lake Merced at San Francisco State University. The move comes after years of financial pressure.
The sale was completed on Friday and confirmed by a university official to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The university has operated in San Francisco for more than 170 years. It was originally located at 220 Golden Gate Ave. before moving to the Mission Street campus in the 1960s.