Top 10 Office Projects Under Construction in San Francisco

San Francisco remains one of the nation’s top tech hubs and a hotbed for innovation. According to Yardi Matrix data, the metro’s development pipeline encompassed more than 9.9 million square feet of office space as of September, and a little over one million square feet was delivered year-to-date. Even so, finding office space remains a challenge for startups in the Bay Area, as tech powerhouses continue to dominate the landscape. Additionally, Proposition E—the controversial ballot measure adopted last March—is bound to significantly reduce new office supply, further exacerbating the availability shortfalls.

Some 3.6 million square feet of office space across 17 properties is scheduled for completion by year-end, while 4.3 million square feet is expected to come online in 2021. However, uncertainty around delivery dates is fueled by the ongoing health crisis. Here are the largest office projects underway in the metro, based on Yardi Matrix data.

10. Joan and Sanford I. Weill Neurosciences Building

Alexandria Real Estate Equities is developing the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Neurosciences Building, a 269,000-square-foot medical facility with a 5,000-square-foot retail component. The company started work on the six-story property in February 2018. Completion is scheduled for the end of 2020. The asset will house the University of California San Francisco Medical Center’s new neurology clinic, the UCSF Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Global Brain Health Institute, as well as research laboratories. Located on 27 acres at 555 Mission Bay Blvd. S., the building is in the heart of the university’s Mission Bay campus.

9. 201 Haskins Way

The 311,369-square-foot 201 Haskins Way is another Alexandria Real Estate Equities building taking shape in San Francisco. The company broke ground on the life sciences/office development in January 2019. Upon completion, scheduled for the third quarter of 2021, the property will comprise a three-story east building and a five-story west building joined by a three-story open atrium. The development team includes Truebeck Construction as the general contractor and WRNS Studio as the architect.

8. Gateway of Pacific – Phase III & Gateway of Pacific – Building 1000A

BioMed Realty’s Gateway of Pacific is a 1.3 million-square-foot complex emerging in South San Francisco. The largest buildings under construction are 350,000 square feet each. Phase III is an 11-story asset that broke ground in December 2019 and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2022. Construction on the 12-story Building 1000A started in September 2017, with delivery anticipated in the first quarter of 2021.

The 23-acre Gateway of Pacific is being constructed in three phases in the heart of San Francisco’s biotech hub, just off Highway 101 and north of San Francisco International Airport. The Flad-designed campus has caught the attention of large biotech companies, including anchor tenant AbbVie and Amgen. The latter signed a 240,000-square-foot lease last December.

7. Mission Bay 1 & 2

Alexandria Real Estate Equities is also working on Uber’s upcoming Mission Bay headquarters. The company broke ground on the 422,980-square-foot Mission Bay 1 & 2 in June 2016. Although scheduled for completion in the last quarter of 2021, it is unknown when Uber will actually move in, as the company announced its employees will be working remotely until July 2021 due to the pandemic.

Mission Bay 1 & 2 will comprise a six-story and 11-story office building connected via two pedestrian bridges and a plaza. The assets also feature an innovative operable facade. Design plans were provided by SHoP Architects and Quezada Architecture, while Surface Design acted as the landscape architect. Located at 1515 Third St., the project is part of the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center arena project in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood.

6. Facebook Campus – Building 22

Facebook continues to expand its Silicon Valley footprint with the addition of a 464,712-square-foot development in Menlo Park, Calif. The $303 million project broke ground in April 2018 and represents the redevelopment of the five-building TE Connectivity campus located at 301-309 Constitution Drive. The four-story asset is expected to deliver at the end of 2020 and will include first-level parking with 1,736 stalls, a park and a sky bridge. Gehry Partners, known for designing the tech giant’s headquarters, is the architect in charge.

5. The Alexandria District – Building 1 & 2

Alexandria Real Estate Equities is also developing the first phase of its upcoming Alexandria District for Science & Technology biotech campus. The project encompasses two office buildings totaling 556,945 square feet slated to come online this fall. Building 1 has 280,000 square feet and is anchored by biopharma firm Allakos, while Building 2 encompasses 276,945 square feet. The project is located at 825 and 835 Industrial Road in San Carlos, Calif., equidistant between San Francisco and San Jose.

Designed by Arc Tec, the first phase also includes a small park and a 517,000-square-foot shared parking structure. At full build-out, Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ campus will include 1.6 million square feet of space between Industrial Road and Old County Road, which encapsulates the redevelopment of the former Kelly-Moore Paints corporate headquarters.

4. Mission Bay 3 & 4

Uber’s new headquarters will also include the upcoming Mission Bay 3 & 4, located at 1725 Third St., within the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center. The project broke ground in March 2017 and encompasses 580,000 square feet of office and 100,000 square feet of retail space across two 11-story buildings designed by Pfau Long Architecture. Completion is scheduled for this fall.

J.P. Morgan Chase provided a $639 million construction loan, deemed one of the year’s most noteworthy financing deals. Similar to Mission Bay 1 & 2, the project will include various sustainability features such as environment-friendly construction materials, pedestrian-friendly location, nearby bike racks, smoke-free campus and construction waste diversion.

3. 5M Project – H1 Building

Last June, following a decade of planning, Brookfield Properties and Hearst Corp. teamed up to develop 5M, a three-building, $1 billion project in San Francisco’s SoMa district. Phase I consists of the H1 Building, a 655,000-square-foot, 25-story office building scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2021. The property, designed by Sitelab, is located at 415 Natoma St., on 4 acres of former parking lots and vacant buildings. The project will also include M2, a 20-story residential building and a 30-story condo project dubbed N1.

2. Kilroy Oyster Point – Phase I

Kilroy Realty kicked off construction on the multiphase Kilroy Oyster Point in May 2019. The first phase consists of a 656,000-square-foot laboratory and office facilities situated at 379 Oyster Point, right at the entrance of the $2.2 billion project. Completion is scheduled for the second half of 2021.

Phase I is already fully leased, with Stripe Inc. as the anchor tenant. DGA Architects provided design services, Teichert Construction facilitated infrastructure work and Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction handled the development process. The 52-acre waterfront campus will include a total of 3 million square feet across 12 buildings.

1. First Street Tower of Oceanwide Center

The largest property on the list is First Street Tower of Oceanwide Center, a mixed-use project totaling 1.5 million square feet, with a 1 million-square-foot office component. Beijing-based Oceanwide Holdings broke ground on the property in 2016, but has since sold it to an SPF Capital affiliate. Completion is scheduled for the first quarter of 2022.

At full build-out, the 61-story tower will be San Francisco’s second-tallest office building. It will also include first- and second-floor retail space and 110 residential units, making it the tallest residential project on the West Coast. Located at 50 First St. in San Francisco’s South Financial District, the development is part of a rezoning plan that encourages density around the Transbay Terminal. The development team includes TMG Partners as the developer, Walter P Moore as the expert structural engineer and Foster + Partners and Heller Manus as architects.