You’ve probably seen it. If you’ve ever walked from the Embarcadero toward the Transbay Transit Center, it’s hard to miss the sharp, glass-clad geometry of 405 Howard St San Francisco. Locally known as Orrick Tower, this building is more than just another office block in a city currently obsessed with its own "doom loop" narrative. It is a 525,000-square-foot case study in how San Francisco architecture evolved from the blocky concrete of the 70s into the airy, tech-forward hubs we see today.
Honestly, 405 Howard is a bit of a chameleon.
Completed back in 2002, it arrived right as the original dot-com bubble was bursting. Bad timing? Maybe. But the building survived and thrived because it didn't just cater to the fleeting tech whims of the early 2000s; it anchored itself with heavy-hitting legal and financial tenants. Most people just walk past the ground-floor retail without realizing they're standing at the nexus of the South of Market (SoMa) district and the traditional Financial District.
The Architecture of 405 Howard St San Francisco: More Than Just Glass
What makes this spot interesting isn't just the height. It's only 10 stories in one section and 16 in another. It’s a mid-rise. But the design by Studios Architecture—a firm that basically shaped the modern aesthetic of Silicon Valley—was radical for its time.
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They used a steel frame with a curtain wall system. It sounds boring, but the result is a workspace flooded with natural light. Most 90s offices felt like fluorescent-lit dungeons. 405 Howard feels like a greenhouse for productivity. The "sawtooth" design on the facade isn't just for looks; it creates more corner offices. In the world of high-stakes law firms like Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (the namesake tenant), corner offices are the ultimate currency.
Why Location Is the Real Story Here
The address is the real flex. You're literally steps away from the Salesforce Transit Center. For a commuter coming in from the East Bay or the Peninsula, this is the gold standard of "transit-oriented development."
Think about it.
If you work at 405 Howard, your morning commute doesn't involve a twenty-minute hike from Montgomery BART. You step off the bus or out of the tunnel and you're basically at your desk. This proximity to the "Grand Central of the West" kept the building's valuation resilient even when the surrounding blocks struggled during the mid-2020s office market correction.
The Tenant Mix and the "Flight to Quality"
The term "flight to quality" is thrown around by real estate brokers way too much, but for 405 Howard St San Francisco, it actually fits. When the market gets shaky, companies flee "Class B" buildings—the ones with the weird smells and the slow elevators—and consolidate into "Class A" spaces like this one.
Orrick has been the anchor here forever. But the building has also seen a rotation of tech and professional services that reflect the changing soul of the city. We’re talking about firms that need high-security, high-bandwidth, and high-prestige environments.
There's a specific kind of energy in the lobby. It’s not the "t-shirt and hoodie" vibe of a startup incubator in the Mission. It’s more "tailored blazer and a sense of urgency."
- Proximity to Power: The building sits near Google’s San Francisco offices and the massive Salesforce Tower.
- Amenities that Actually Matter: It's not about ping-pong tables anymore. It's about air filtration, LEED certification, and high-end fitness centers.
- The Foundry Square Connection: It’s part of the larger Foundry Square development, which transformed this specific corner of SoMa from industrial grit into a polished corporate campus.
What Most People Miss About the Neighborhood
If you’re visiting or looking to lease, don’t just look at the floor plates. Look at the ground. The area surrounding 405 Howard has become a culinary and social micro-hub.
Take a walk to the nearby Rincon Center or the Ferry Building. The "Howard Street Corridor" used to be a place people hurried through to get somewhere else. Now, with the expansion of the Transbay park system (the park on the roof of the transit center is literally a block away), the lifestyle component has shifted. You’ve got people taking lunch breaks in a 5.4-acre rooftop park. That changes the psychology of an office building. It’s no longer an island; it’s part of a vertical neighborhood.
Addressing the "Empty San Francisco" Myth
It is true that San Francisco faced a massive office vacancy crisis. You've seen the headlines. Some buildings saw valuations drop by 50% or more.
But here’s the nuance: not all buildings are created equal.
Buildings like 405 Howard St San Francisco stay occupied because they are "sticky." When a law firm invests millions into a custom build-out with specific filing rooms, high-end partner offices, and integrated tech, they don't just leave because it's Tuesday. The cost of relocation for these types of tenants is astronomical. This building represents the "durable" side of San Francisco real estate. While the purely speculative tech "flex spaces" went dark, the institutional-grade assets stayed humming.
The Technical Specs (For the Real Estate Nerds)
The building offers massive floor plates. We’re talking about roughly 40,000 to 50,000 square feet on certain levels. In the architectural world, "large floor plates" are the Holy Grail. Why? Because you can fit an entire department on one floor. No one has to take the stairs or the elevator to talk to their manager. It fosters collaboration—or at least makes it harder to hide from your boss.
It also features:
- High Ceilings: Most floors boast 9-foot+ finished heights.
- Sustainability: It’s been LEED Gold certified, which is basically a requirement for any ESG-conscious corporation in 2026.
- Redundant Power: Essential for the legal and financial sectors where a 10-minute outage can cost millions.
Navigating the 405 Howard Area
If you're headed there for a meeting, give yourself an extra ten minutes just to navigate the Transbay traffic. Even with the transit improvements, the intersection of Howard and 1st Street is a beehive.
The best way to get there? Honestly, BART or Caltrain. If you're coming from the Peninsula, the Caltrain extension (once fully realized) makes this building one of the most accessible spots in the entire Bay Area. If you have to drive, the parking garages in this area are some of the most expensive in the world. Seriously. You'll pay $40 for a few hours just to look at a glass facade.
What Happens Next for 405 Howard?
The future of 405 Howard St San Francisco is tied to the recovery of the SoMa district. As AI companies continue to snap up space in the city—San Francisco is currently the AI capital of the world—we’re seeing a second wave of interest in high-end office space.
While the "traditional" tech companies scaled back, the new guard is looking for exactly what 405 Howard offers: prestige, security, and proximity to the transit hub.
Actionable Insights for Tenants and Investors
If you are looking at this building or the surrounding area, keep these three things in mind:
- Check the Sublease Market First: Often, in high-end buildings like this, you can find "plug-and-play" sublease space from larger firms that over-expanded. This can save you 30% on build-out costs.
- Leverage the Amenities: The rooftop park at the Transbay Center is essentially a free amenity for the building. Use it for "walking meetings" to escape the glass-and-steel fatigue.
- Evaluate the "Green" Factor: Don't overlook the LEED Gold status. In the current regulatory environment, having a low-carbon footprint office isn't just a "nice to have"—it’s a tax and compliance strategy.
405 Howard isn't just a landmark; it’s a survivor. It represents the transition of San Francisco from a gold-rush town to a tech-rush town, and finally, to a mature global hub that prioritizes design, transit, and long-term stability over short-term hype. Whether you're a legal professional, a tech founder, or just a curious local, this building is a barometer for the city's overall health.
If the lights are on at 405 Howard, the city is still open for business.