The fifth tallest building in the Bay Area planned or built in the SFYIMBY January 2021 Countdown is the Transbay Parcel F at 550 Howard Street in SoMa, San Francisco. Proposed by a joint venture with Hines, Urban Pacific, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the mixed-use tower will rise 806 feet above street level. Construction is scheduled to start in the first quarter of next year.
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.
View of Bridge Connector to 550 Howard Street, rendering by SteelBlue
Once construction starts, the project is anticipated to take two and a half years to complete. If work starts in early 2022, completion can be expected between 2024 and 2025.
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the same firm responsible for the Salesforce Tower, is responsible for the design. The project will be clad with a curtain wall facade, extending down to the street level. The public will find public elevators going to the fifth floor, where there will be some retail shops and a bridge connecting the building with the Transbay Transit Center’s blocks-long rooftop park.
550 Howard Street structural system, design by Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Magnusson Klemencic Associates are responsible for the structural system. The firm says they use an unusual weight balancing condition across the bottom eight levels at 550 Howard to minimize horizontal force on the building’s core. Regarding earthquake preparation, they describe the structure as being composed of a ‘non-prescriptive seismic design with a ductile shear wall core.’
They go on to write, “the tower columns and core walls will be founded on large diameter drilled shafts into the Franciscan Bedrock. Beneath the core, a thick mat foundation will distribute the wall loads to the drilled shafts and minimize differential settlement. Beyond the core, a thinner mat will resist hydrostatic uplift forces.”
550 Howard Street:Parcel F Architectural design, rendering by SteelBlue
550 Howard Street seen below the left Golden Gate Bridge tower, with the proposed Oceanwide Center seen behind the Salesforce Building, rendering by SteelBlue
550 Howard Street from Treasure Island, rendering by SteelBlue
550 Howard Street, i.e., Transbay Parcel F, design by Pelli Clarke Pelli and rendering by SteelBlue
550 Howard Street nestled in the SoMa skyline, left of the Oceanwide Center and Salesforce Tower, design by Pelli Clarke Pelli
550 Howard Street viewed from Mission Dolores Park to the right of the Salesforce Tower, design by Pelli Clarke Pelli
550 Howard Street elevation, design by Pelli Clarke Pelli
The 61-story building rises 750 feet from street level to rooftop, with its parapet extending 806 feet high. The building will yield roughly 957,000 square feet, with 325,000 square feet of office space, 165 apartments, and 189 hotel guest rooms. Approximately 9,000 square feet of retail will be fitted in the podium, alongside parking for 212 bicycles and 183 vehicles.
550 Howard Street view looking west, rendering by SteelBlue
This September, it was announced that Rosewood would manage the hotel space. The firm, founded in Dallas and now based out of Hong Kong, is known for its international luxury accommodations. Each of the guest rooms and suites will feature interior design by the global Joyce Wang Studio.
550 Howard Street along Howard Street looking east, design by Pelli Clarke Pelli
With construction expected to start soon, 550 Howard Street could very well become the fourth tallest building in the Bay Area upon completion. The only tower that could eclipse 550 Howard in time, the 910-foot Oceanwide Center at 50 1st Street, is currently stalled with construction at street level.
550 Howard Street viewed from Natoma Street, design by Pelli Clarke Pelli
Since January 2021, several new proposals have come out which will be taller than some of the projects on the SFYIMBY countdown. There is now a second contender that hopes to reach higher than Parcel F, and it is being spearheaded by the same developer!
50 Main Street is an 818-foot tall apartment building proposed by Hines in mid-September, with design by Foster + Partners. The new tower is the crowning jewel of the 200 Mission Street Campus redevelopment, which promises to reinvigorate a central location by the Embarcadero BART Station with renovated offices and new privately owned public open space.
550 Howard Street aerial view from Transbay Park, design by Pelli Clarke Pelli
Hines hopes to raise a billion dollars for construction from JP Morgan Chase and the Singapore-based UOB bank.
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