Hines snaps up highrise for $260M.(Brief Article)

Houston-based Hines, in what could presage a wave of downtown building sales, has emerged as the winning bidder for San Francisco's 50 Fremont St., one of the city's larger office properties.

Hines, which is backed by the giant California Public Employees' Retirement System, has agreed to pay close to $260 million for the 41-story highrise, sources close to the deal said.

The 742-000-square-foot building between Market and Mission streets was put on the market earlier this year by co-owners Shorenstein Co. and Fremont Properties Inc., a division of the Fremont Group. Both are based in San Francisco.

Sources said the Hines/CalPERS partnership beat out a short list of bidders that included …