535 Mission Street

History

In 1984, a partnership called Bredero-Northern filed an application for a 300 foot tall, 23-story office building. The Environmental Impact Report was certified in 1986, but the project was subsequently withdrawn by the developers and never built. In 1999, a new sponsor called DWI Development, Inc. proposed a 22-story, approximately 294 foot tall building, which was approved in April 2000. Following the dot-com crash, Hines Interests Limited Partnership took over the project and in 2002 demolished the existing structures and built a temporary parking lot until the economy recovered.

With the office market slow to recover, the site was sold in 2003 to Monahan Pacific for $19.2 million, with plans to switch the development to condominiums. In 2005, the site was approved for a 35-story, 360 foot tall building containing up to 273 housing units.

Beacon broke ground on 535 Mission during the summer of 2008, driving piles and laying the building's foundation. In October 2008, during the 2008 financial crisis, construction on the building was halted. After lying dormant for four years, the site was sold along with already purchased construction materials to Boston Properties for $71 million. Boston Properties restarted construction in 2013. Topping-out ceremonies were held on January 8, 2014 and the building opened in November 2014. The building was planned to attain LEED Gold status upon completion.

The building was designed by HOK, the American architecture firm. The 535 Mission Project in San Francisco features a 4 sided SSG Facade installed by Architectural Glass and Aluminum. San Francisco Chronicle architecture critic John King stated that 535 Mission Street "isn’t a masterpiece", but praised its architectural restraint, with an "unusual but understated form [that] is emphasized by the sleek glass skin, where sometimes, especially near dusk or dawn, each side reads as a single blue or silver pane."

As of 2014, one third of the building's space was occupied by Trulia, a real estate website company. In February 2023, however, Trulia announced that it had reduced its footprint in the building from six floors to two. In December 2014, the coworking space company WeWork announced that it would lease 91,000 square feet in the tower. As of May 2025, WeWork's website states that its working space occupies seven of the building's 27 floors.

References

References

1. "Emporis building ID 286156". [[Emporis]].
2. {{skyscraperpage. 80545
3. (2013-02-06). "Boston Properties Announces Acquisition of 535 Mission Street in San Francisco and Agreement to Acquire the Last Remaining Development Site in Reston Town Center".
4. King, John. (November 14, 2014). "S.F.'s newest office tower shows poise in a time of flash". San Francisco Chronicle.
5. (2007-08-02). "SAN FRANCISCO PLANNING COMMISSION - MOTION NO. 17469".
6. Dineen, J.K.. (2012-03-08). "Beacon to seek buyer for Mission Street site". San Francisco Business Times.
7. Dineen, J.K.. (2008-10-26). "Construction work suspended at new downtown office tower". San Francisco Business Times.
8. Dineen, J.K.. (2014-01-08). "Boston Properties tops off S.F.'s newest office tower". San Francisco Business Times.
9. (13 December 2020). "535 Mission Street by HOK".
10. Ellen Rogers, [http://www.glassguides.com/digital/2014/JulAug2014.pdf "Structural Movement"], ''Architects Guide to Glass and Metal'', July/August 2014, page 10
11. (5 February 2023). "Another San Francisco company to reduce size of its HQ". SFGATE.
12. (9 December 2014). "WeWork scoops up 91,000 square feet in S.F.'s newest office tower". San Francisco Business Times.
13. "535 Mission St - Coworking & Private Offices".