Downtown San Francisco Leasing Timeline: Major Moves at 405 Howard St

From key trends to fundamental details, get a complete picture of Downtown San Francisco Leasing Timeline: Major Moves at 405 Howard St in our latest feature.

The SoMa office market rebound is driven directly by artificial intelligence balance sheets. As reported by the San Francisco Business Times, both OpenAI and Anthropic have methodically acquired real estate across the eastern neighborhoods of San Francisco. Their growth plans require contiguous space where engineering, research, and executive teams can sit within walking distance of each other.

That dynamic changed the options for non-tech tenants. In 2023, an enterprise firm could browse dozens of premium full-floor listings across downtown. By mid-2026, top-grade spaces vanished. According to reporting from the San Francisco Examiner, the city's commercial market turned a decisive corner this summer, spurred almost entirely by AI demand. When fast-growing tech firms tour buildings with checkbooks backed by tens of billions in capital, legacy tenants must act quickly or risk being pushed into secondary properties.