A rendering of the proposed 41-story tower that could contain office space and a hotel, at 530 Sansome St. in San Francisco.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Competition to deliver San Francisco’s newest commercial skyscraper is intensifying, with a new partnership pooling resources to help shape the next chapter for the city’s office market.
Related California, the West Coast division of global real estate firm Related Companies, announced Monday that it has formed a joint venture with Los Angeles-based McCourt Partners to develop the Jackson — a 41-story office and hotel tower planned on the edge of Jackson Square.
The deal would give McCourt an equity stake in the project, positioning the group as a capital partner, though the size of its contribution and terms of the partnership were not disclosed. The development has already been entitled by Related and remains in the design phase. It still requires construction financing and sufficient pre-leasing commitments before the project can break ground.
Article continues below this ad
“These projects take a certain amount of capital to move forward,” said Jordan Lang, president of McCourt Partners. “This joint venture reflects our conviction in San Francisco’s resurgence.”
As envisioned, the Jackson would stack 24 floors of about 390,000 square feet of new office above a 200-room five-star hotel in the North Financial District, where neither type of development has been built in decades. The tower is planned to rise at 530 Sansome St., a block over from the Transamerica Pyramid at the site of Fire Station No. 13, which will be reconstructed.
A rendering of street level view of the proposed tower at 530 Sansome St. in San Francisco.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
The Related team has said it expects to advance drawings over the next year and pull permits, while market insiders have said the developer is positioning its tower to be ready for occupancy in 2030.
San Francisco Chronicle Logo
Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.
Add Preferred Source
Related CEO Gino Canori said the Jackson is intended to reflect the “renewed growth, dynamism and momentum of San Francisco,” which is showing early signs of recovery after years of elevated office vacancies in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Article continues below this ad
“Related has a lot of respect for the McCourt team — they are a great partner to bring our resources together and help move this project forward,” said Nick Vanderboom, Related’s Chief Operating Officer.
McCourt, which has been active on a range of large-scale redevelopment efforts in California and other parts of the country, including a 2,300-acre master planned community in Arizona, is becoming more familiar with San Francisco.
The firm is also involved in the planned redevelopment of San Francisco’s Golden Gate University downtown campus, where it has partnered with Lincoln Property Co. to build a new 46‑story skyscraper. The project could result in either a 700‑foot office tower or a slightly shorter mixed‑use tower combining offices and hundreds of homes. It was pitched last summer and is in the entitlement process.
The partnership with Related means that McCourt is now backing both the Jackson and the Golden Gate University project, two of four new office towers working to secure the tenants and financing needed to start construction. Another is the pending reboot of a 910-foot tower approved a decade ago at First and Mission streets, which appears to have a head start with its foundation in place — a potential advantage for attracting tenants searching for new offices in the near future.
The largest of the projects, a 1,225-foot tower by Hines at 77 Beale St. promises to end Salesforce Tower’s reign as the city’s tallest high-rise. Meanwhile, Related is banking on the much smaller Jackson tower’s location for its appeal: the 575–foot building is the only new office project north of Market Street, where leasing has improved at a faster pace than elsewhere in downtown.
Article continues below this ad
“This is one of the most exciting projects in the country — it’s in a very unique location in the city, being on the north side of the Financial District with all that’s happening in Jackson Square and the invigoration north of Market Street,” Lang, of McCourt, said about 530 Sansome.
Though high vacancy rates persist downtown, perceptions around San Francisco are shifting for the better and investors are returning, he said.
The city’s newfound leasing momentum is largely due to artificial intelligence firms growing rapidly in pockets of downtown and neighborhoods like Mission Bay. Related has said that the Jackson is aimed at smaller, more predictable tenants — finance, private equity and professional services firms — that prioritize location and prestige over scale and cost.
“We are out in the market talking to office tenants for pre-leasing and there is a lot of interest,” said Vanderboom, of Related. “Most of the competing buildings in the market are 40 to 50 years old. We see the opportunity to provide brand new, modern office space with floor to ceiling glass, modern amenities, and a building that is sustainable — all the things that top tier tenants are looking for but can’t find in San Francisco.”
Article continues below this ad
The Jackson was originally entitled for 19-stories in 2021, but nearly doubled in height in recent years with the city’s blessing. Structured as a public private partnership due to the privately funded new fire station, the project has long had the support of City Hall. Last year, Mayor Daniel Lurie spearheaded legislation allowing Related to use future hotel tax revenue to help fund the plan, stating that, upon completion, the Jackson will generate more than $800 million in annual economic activity.