The 18th tallest building in the Bay Area planned or built is Four Embarcadero Center, an iconic waterfront landmark in the San Francisco skyline. It is also the tallest of the Embarcadero Center mega-development in the Financial District and the tallest waterfront building in the region. The 570-foot tall tower rises just two feet higher than One Embarcadero Center. As with the rest of the complex, John Portman & Associates were the architects.
Four Embarcadero Center rising above Sue Bierman Park, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
Today’s story is part of a weekly series on SFYIMBY to count down the 52 tallest towers in the Bay Area built or planned as of January 2021.
The 45-story building was completed in 1979 with 1.1 million square feet of total area, and 858,600 square feet of office space across 40 floors. Now LEED Gold certified, the building includes underground parking for 221 vehicles and a conference center.
Four Embarcadero Center podium close-up, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
City records show the property value around $452 million, combining land and structural value. Towers One through Four of the Embercadero Center, built between 1968 and 1981, is currently owned by Boston Properties. Boston Properties purchased the four towers along with 275 Battery street and the old Federal Reserve building in 1998 for a whopping $1.22 billion, or roughly $300 per square foot, exceeding expectations. It marked the first west-coast investment for the real estate investment trust, i.e., REIT. According to SF Gate reporting at the time by Chronicle staff writer Ilana DeBare, it gave Boston 5% of all the top downtown office floor area in the city.
Four Embarcadero Center seen above One Maritime Plaza from Russian Hill, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
Four Embarcadero Center from Harry Bridges Plaza, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
The project was sold by Prudential and David Rockefeller. Rockefeller was the original investor who, along with John Portman and Trammell Crow, made the city-altering project happen. In 1998, DeBare wrote, “Downtown workers and shoppers may not remember what a risky beginning the project had 30 years ago… Rockefeller was practically the only investor that the city could interest in the land, which at the time was part of its produce market district.”
Four Embarcadero Center ground-up view, image by Andrew Campbell Nelson
The whole Embaracero Center complex contains 4.8 million square feet, with 4 million square feet of offices, two hotels, a shopping center, and an elevated public terrace with landscaping and seating. Office workers will also find access to an on-site fitness center. The Embarcadero BART Station is five minutes away on foot.
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