Commission Approves 536 Mission Tower but Cuts Office Allocation to Protect Downtown Pipeline

The San Francisco Planning Commission greenlit a 46-story tower on the Golden Gate University site Thursday but split sharply over how much of the city's dwindling office allocation to hand a single project — a decision that will ripple across every major development in the pipeline for years to come.

• 46-story tower at 536 Mission Street approved 6-0, but sponsor's request for full remaining Prop M office allocation rejected 2-4
• Prop M scarcity laid bare: granting the full 813,214 sq ft would have left zero allocation for competing projects like 50 Main Street, with annual replenishment netting only ~20,000 sq ft after existing debt
• Mezzanine code fix passes unanimously, eliminating a conflict between planning and building codes that delayed projects citywide
• Mayor announces renter protection package including tenant right to counsel, Ellis Act payment increases, and eviction protections

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The Prop M Showdown: 536 Mission Gets Its Tower, Not Its Full Ask

A proposed 700-foot office tower and its 649-foot mixed-use sibling both won commission approval at 536 Mission Street — but the fight over how much office space to authorize exposed a constraint that will shape downtown San Francisco's recovery trajectory.

The basics: Lincoln Property Company and McCoy Partners plan to demolish the existing Golden Gate University campus at 536 Mission Street in the Transit Center District and build a 46-story tower. Two variants are on the table: a commercial-only version with approximately 1.22 million sq ft of office and lab space, and a mixed-use version with approximately 992,000 sq ft plus 385 residential units. The project includes new publicly accessible open space and the pedestrianization of Ecker Street.

Why it matters: The project sponsor asked for 813,214 sq ft of Prop M large-cap office allocation — every last square foot available. Staff said no, recommending 555,390 sq ft instead, because granting the full amount would block other pipeline projects indefinitely.

The Allocation Math

Planning Director Sarah Dennis-Phillips made the stakes explicit: "If the full allocation was granted here, that is all the allocation that we have, so projects in the pipeline, such as 50 Main Street, which is another project coming before you, would not be able to move forward until we have significant changes to our Prop M pipeline."

The October annual replenishment — when new office allocation enters the pool — offered little comfort. Zoning Administrator Corey Teague delivered the sobering math: "Even though we are going to technically get like 220,000, we're also going to be paying out about 200,000 in debt, so to speak. So the net increase that we will receive in the large cap October 17th will actually only net out to about 20,000 square feet instead of 200."

Dennis-Phillips framed the staff position as stewardship rather than opposition to the project: the commission should "recommend actions moving forward that allow, to the best of our ability, all boats to move forward so that we see economic activity across downtown without picking favorites and winners and losers."

The Sponsor's Case

Brandon Wong, representing Lincoln Property Company, argued the all-office variant is the one they intend to build and that the full allocation would provide the certainty needed to invest tens of millions in getting the site shovel-ready. "We respectfully request that the commission grant the remaining 813,000 square feet of Prop M to allow this project to move forward," he said.

Wong later explained why the mixed-use variant isn't financially viable today: "The rents for office are higher, the development costs for office are lower. And so the office works today. The mixed use currently doesn't work today in today's environment."

Two Votes, Two Outcomes

Commissioner Koppel moved to approve with the full 813,214 sq ft, seconded by Commissioner McGarry. Commissioner McGarry was enthusiastic about the project's potential to restart downtown construction: "This one's great. And this could be the start of many more to come. And it's exciting to see it because basically we've been struggling on the outside, construction wise, for the last five, six years."

That motion failed 2-4, with Commissioners Chen, McDonald, So, and President Campbell voting against.

Commissioner Chen sided with staff, citing the math: "If we drew it all the way down to zero, it would take us at least one year, maybe much longer to even get back to that same level of square footage."

Commissioner So echoed the concern: "As much as I would love to grant the 813, I do respect the math and time that's been put into the recommendation that staff's put forward."

Commissioner Chen then moved for the staff recommendation of 555,390 sq ft. It passed 6-0.

Design and Public Realm Debate

Mark Schwetman of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill presented the tower design, emphasizing ground-level activation in a dense district: "Our intention in the design of the building was to kind of create air for the public realm. This is a very dense part of the city. We have buildings that are 500 to 1,000 feet tall going up around us."

Commissioner McDonald pressed on one weak point — a long stretch of loading dock doors along Jesse Street. "That long row of the roll-up doors at the loading docks is unfortunate for the public realm. It's the only way I can think to say it," she said, urging the design team to mitigate the impact.

McDonald also clarified an important distinction for the record about the Ecker Street conversion: "This is not a street vacation. And even though it's called a POPO — that's privately owned public open space — in fact, it's really a PMPOS, which is a privately managed public open space." She confirmed Ecker Street would remain open 24 hours.

Commissioner So questioned the project's methodology for counting open space, noting that some of the credited POPO area falls outside the property line in the public right-of-way: "So you're counting your POPO. Part of it is actually outside of your property line."

Broad Public Support

All four public commenters backed the project. Eddie Reyes, president of Ironworkers Local 377, emphasized transit-oriented development and local hire commitments. Adam Vandewater, executive director of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, noted the project would pay into the Community Facilities District supporting the Portal project to bring Caltrain and eventually high-speed rail to the Salesforce Transit Center. Taylor Jantz, CFO of Golden Gate University, explained the university's transition to flexible formats and said the sale allows GGU to invest in teaching rather than maintaining an outdated building. Matt Russo of the International Union of Elevator Constructors emphasized union trades and the need to evaluate the project with a longer development horizon.

What's next: The sponsor can build either variant with 555,390 sq ft of office allocation. To construct the full commercial variant, Lincoln Property Company will need to return for additional allocation as Prop M space becomes available — a process that could take years given the glacial pace of replenishment. The project's path forward will also be shaped by how the commission handles competing requests from 50 Main Street and other pipeline projects.

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Mezzanine Code Fix Ends Planning-Building Conflict

Why it matters: A seemingly technical amendment resolves a real headache for builders. Under the Planning Code, a mezzanine exceeding 33.3% of a floor's area counted as a separate story — but the Building Code allowed up to 50% with sprinklers and other safety features. That gap meant a Planning Department plan checker and a Department of Building Inspection inspector could give different answers about the same building's story count, causing delays and potential use conflicts in neighborhood commercial districts.

Raynell Cooper from Supervisor Bilal Mahmoud's office presented the legislation, which emerged from the Builders Roundtable — a quarterly forum with developers, architects, attorneys, and labor leaders. Cooper explained the core problem: "Under the building code, if there are sprinklers, buildings can have mezzanines that cover up to 50% of the floor area and not have them count against the overall story count. However, that number is 33%" under the Planning Code.

Staff recommended a modification: rather than simply raising the threshold to 50%, the Planning Code would reference the Building Code's full list of exceptions — construction type, sprinklers, occupancy — keeping the two codes aligned across all scenarios. The item was presented by Tate Hanna, a staff member who joined Planning from DBI as part of the phased agency merger. Planning Director Sarah Dennis-Phillips highlighted the cross-pollination: "Tate Hanna is one of the amazing results of our phased merger with the Planning Department. So Tate has a significant background in state policy and legislation."

Decisions: Approved 6-0 with staff modifications (For: Chen, Koppel, McDonald, McGarry, So, Campbell).

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Minor Items

• DR at 288 Pacheco Street (Case 2023-008594-DRP) was withdrawn before the hearing.
• Renter protection package announced: Planning Director Sarah Dennis-Phillips reported a new package from the mayor's office and several supervisors including tenant right to counsel, increased payments to those evicted under the Ellis Act, an eviction moratorium for short-term nonpayment of rent, support for residents with expiring federal vouchers, legal enforcement against illegal landlord practices, and a know-your-rights campaign led by the Mayor's Office of Housing.
• Public commenter Georgia Schutish cited 525 28th Street in Noe Valley as a case where a project approved as an alteration should have been reviewed as a demolition under Section 317, and urged improved DBI-Planning intake coordination as the agency merger advances.