With an unprecedented housing crisis driving real estate prices higher and higher, San Francisco has had no choice but to review its zoning laws to allow highrises in and around the downtown area. As a result, some neighbourhoods are seeing a sharp increase in density, with several condominium and office towers being built in an attempt to relieve pressure on the market. The SOMA neighbourhood, literally South of Market, is currently experiencing a building boom, and massive projects are changing the face of streets that were once mostly occupied by warehouses and auto-repair shops. 

This change is well illustrated by the Transbay Transit Centre project and surrounding urban intensification. While more than 3,000 new housing units are planned for the area, new office spaces are also in the works to house the growing number of tech companies choosing the neighbourhood for their headquarters. At 415 Mission Street, Salesforce is currently planning new offices, housed in a 326-metre tower designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and Kendall / Heaton Associates. As the first underground levels are being constructed, the Boston Properties and Hines-developed 61-storey building is poised to become the tallest structure in San Francisco upon completion in 2017.

Located on a full city block, the Salesforce Tower will offer large floor plates for a total of 130,000 square metres of office space, 66,300 of which will be occupied by Salesforce itself, setting a new San Francisco record for area leased by a single tenant. The clear glass cladding will flood the spaces with natural light, vents and handling units will bring fresh air to each floor, and power generating stations will help the building reduce its dependence on traditional power sources. These features will result in a LEED Platinum certification, which might actually be exceeded by the tower's ambitious energy efficiency goals.