SAN FRANCISCO | 77 Beale St | 1,225 FT | ? FLOORS

[Sky88]

Originally Posted by OneRinconHill

Imagine the design of that original 992 foot skyscraper but at the new height, that would be beautiful.

It would be like this...

[Dale]

San Francisco says go big or go home!

[sentinel]

Do it!

[theskythelimit]

I’ll play the devil’s advocate and say this will not be built. 1.6 million sq feet of office when ~ 32% of office space in SF is vacant. Not to mention, Hines is the developer of parcel F that has not even broken ground.

[DCReid]

Originally Posted by theskythelimit

I’ll play the devil’s advocate and say this will not be built. 1.6 million sq feet of office when ~ 32% of office space in SF is vacant. Not to mention, Hines is the developer of parcel F that has not even broken ground.

I did read that AI companies are leasing up the vacant office space, and I read that there is even talk converting some of old office buildings. While I am skeptical in the near term, it wouldn't be inconceivable in maybe 10 years that SF has a skyscraper boom. Few people seem to remember that Miami was woefully overbuilt with thousands of vacant condos downtown in the mid-2000s but now it's just sprouting condo buildings.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by theskythelimit

I’ll play the devil’s advocate and say this will not be built. 1.6 million sq feet of office when ~ 32% of office space in SF is vacant. Not to mention, Hines is the developer of parcel F that has not even broken ground.

Originally Posted by DCReid

I did read that AI companies are leasing up the vacant office space, and I read that there is even talk converting some of old office buildings. While I am skeptical in the near term, it wouldn't be inconceivable in maybe 10 years that SF has a skyscraper boom. Few people seem to remember that Miami was woefully overbuilt with thousands of vacant condos downtown in the mid-2000s but now it's just sprouting condo buildings.

The article from the SF Chronicle did touch upon that briefly. It looks like there still is demand for premium office space. I'm not terribly hopeful or optimistic either especially given SF's recent track record for getting towers built or even getting under construction towers completed, but... never say never!

Here's what it says:

The new proposal is counterintuitive because it seeks to add 1.6 million square feet of new office space at a time when the city is still grappling with a commercial vacancy rate over 35%, with more than 30 million square feet of empty space. With so many vacant buildings, the city has been focused for several years on making it easier and cheaper to convert underutilized office buildings to housing. Those projects have proven to be stubbornly difficult — a handful of conversion projects have been announced, but none have started construction.

While there is tepid demand for run-of-the-mill office space, market observers say that there are tenants willing to pay for premium space with killer views. Leases signed at the top of Transamerica Pyramid have exceeded $200 a square foot, more than four times the average rent. And Hines is not the only developer seeing an opening for new high-end office space; recently the developer Related California announced a plan to build a new office and hotel tower at 530 Sansome, a property that, like the PG&E block, had previously been slated for housing.

[whitty]

As written about with the Jackson Square demand like with the Transamerica building there appears to be extremely strong demand for the best offices in the city. Middle market and below office space seems to be dead. This thing could easily pencil out, which I bet is why Hines is actively moving it forward. The combined site with numerous refabs and uniqueness maybe elevates it above Parcel F for them.

[wanderer34]

Here's a post I made on the SF projects thread:

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...ostcount=12017

This was the post I responded to:

https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...ostcount=12014

I believe it's important that SF builds this tower only because I get tired of LA having all the attention focused on that city when SF has a better skyline despite not having the tallest tower in CA and the Western US. Silicon Valley has lost some business (Oracle and Tesla comes to mind), but Silicon Valley is the world epicenter of the high tech sector. I hope that the SF political, commercial, and economic establishment approves this project pronto (and the second Transbay Tube for BART, which is sorely needed).

[homebucket]

And here's the building (25 Beale St) slated for conversion to 120 units of housing.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/kaNq6uLS2fAa8BLM9

[SFView]

Can someone check or verify if the 77 Beale St. office tower is NOT a substitute for the 50 Main St. residential tower proposal at a different location on the same block? There is currently mention of the 120 residential units at 25 Beale St., but what about the 1 million square feet of residential for 50 Main Street? Has that been eliminated?

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by SFView

Can someone check or verify if the 77 Beale St. office tower is NOT a substitute for the 50 Main St. residential tower proposal at a different location on the same block? There is currently mention of the 120 residential units at 25 Beale St., but what about the 1 million square feet of residential for 50 Main Street? Has that been eliminated?

I believe this is the replacement for that entire project.

Hines acquired the full-block PG&E/Matson property — bound by Beale, Main, Market and Mission streets — for $800 million in 2021, according to the Chronicle. Initially pitched as a redevelopment called the “Atlas Block Campus,” the plans included a new office tower, a residential high-rise and the restoration of historic buildings. As SF YIMBY reported in 2022, those earlier plans would have made 50 Main St. the second-tallest building in the city. But that vision has since evolved.

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article...t-20769671.php

[SFView]

Hines acquired the full-block PG&E/Matson property — bound by Beale, Main, Market and Mission streets — for $800 million in 2021, according to the Chronicle. Initially pitched as a redevelopment called the “Atlas Block Campus,” the plans included a new office tower, a residential high-rise and the restoration of historic buildings. As SF YIMBY reported in 2022, those earlier plans would have made 50 Main St. the second-tallest building in the city. But that vision has since evolved./QUOTE]

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article...t-20769671.php

While this does not appear to me an elimination of the 50 Main St. proposal, I do agree that with the current updated plan, 50 Main St. would not be "the second-tallest building in the city" if still included. We should probably defer 50 Main St., until we get more definitive information.

[SFView]

^^^Okay, fair enough. We'll just go with that for now. Thanks!

[theskythelimit]

This project is in the very early stages . Look at Salesforce, it took a little more than ten years to go from purchasing the land to completion.

After rethinking it, I do think this project will go forward. I was watching the Mayor praising this project and various businesses hoping it will go forward. The city is in such dire straights to get more funding, I foresee it being rubber stamped.

Watch out of the NIMBY and the shake down of getting money from the developer, like Chinatown did to Oceanwide. There will be questions about the shadows it may cause , probably around the Ferry Plaza and the new park around the temporary transit stop.

You won’t see any renderings for a while since they don’t even have an architect yet.

[homebucket]

^ I think I read somewhere that the vacancy among Class A and A+ office space in SF is under 5%.

[homebucket]

Some photos of the building that would be demolished. If it goes through, this will be tied for the 5th tallest building voluntarily demolished in the US and tied for 11th tallest in the world.

77 Beale St - 34 floors, 492 ft - Completed in 1971


https://sfyimby.com/2021/05/number-3...francisco.html


https://www.costar.com/article/62845...0-million-deal

[OneRinconHill]

Wild they'd be willing to demolish the city's 27th tallest building for this.

[SFView]

Checking back, I see 50 Main St. was placed on hold. Sorry I missed that.

[homebucket]

SF YIMBY just released their coverage of this project, with some interesting updates. Looks like 50 Main St will remain, but instead of the original supertall, it will be either a 285 ft apartment building or a 400 ft hotel.

The updated specs for 77 Beale:
- ? floors, 1,225 ft
- 1.6 million sq ft of office space (full project would add 1.92 million sq ft of office space)
- 50 Main St will be changed to either a 285 ft apartment complex or a 400 ft hotel (350 rooms)
- Restoration of the two original historic buildings in the PG&E/Matson Block — 215 and 245 Market Street — and the conversion of the small office building at 25 Beale St to 120 housing units
- 250,000 sq ft of commercial/retail
- Parking for 700-850 cars and ? bicycles

The site:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zPayDu7KjXSaQqBeA

Deep-Dive Into Plans For San Francisco’s Potential Tallest Skyscraper at 77 Beale Street



By: Andrew Nelson 5:30 am on July 16, 2025

...

According to the project description, demolition will be required of 45 Beale Street, 77 Beale Street, the garage building at 50 Main Street, and the 215 Annex Building. Renovations and improvements will occur at 25 Beale Street, 215 Market Street, and 245 Market Street. New construction will see the 1,225-foot-tall office tower at 77 Beale Street, with two variants floated for 50 Main Street. In contrast to the initial plans for a supertall tower, the garage would be replaced either by a 285-foot-tall apartment complex or a 400-foot-tall tourist hotel.

...

The application requests that the city create a new Special Use District at 77 Beale Street, raising the height limit from 400 feet to 1,225 feet, and amend the smaller lots on the north portion of the block from 150 feet to 400 feet in height. The potential foundation for the South Tower is expected to have approximately 150 shafts, each six feet in diameter and extending 300 feet in length. The tower will include a three-story basement roughly matching the existing basement, though a thicker mat will be poured. The foundation will be dug to bedrock.

Pickard Chilton has remained onboard as the project architect, though it’s not specified if Foster + Partners is still involved. The London-based architecture firm has made significant contributions to the region, including Apple Park in Cupertino and the recently opened interior transformation of the Transamerica Pyramid with SHVO. While the firm has amassed an impressive portfolio of skyline-transforming skyscrapers around the world, it has yet to successfully alter San Francisco’s skyline, through no fault of their own, with cancelled plans for 50 Main Street and the Oceanwide Center. Details about the potential design of 50 Main Street and 77 Beale Street have yet to be revealed, although the preliminary illustration shared by Hines and Pickard Chilton shows the tower sitting on a 105-foot-tall podium, with mid-structure tapering 679 feet above street level. The documents emphasize that the featured illustration is strictly for showing the bulk limit, and not indicative of future massing.

https://sfyimby.com/2025/07/deep-div...le-street.html

[homebucket]

And some renderings of the site plan:







https://sfyimby.com/2025/07/deep-div...le-street.html