You’ve probably seen the block. It’s that massive, somewhat imposing concrete slab sitting right in the Mid-Market district. If you’ve spent any time tracking the rise and fall of the "tech unicorn" era, 1455 Market Street San Francisco CA isn't just an address. It is a monument to a specific kind of ambition. At one point, this single building was essentially the center of the global gig economy. It was the place where the way we move and the way we eat were fundamentally rewritten.
It’s a weird spot.
Square started there. Uber moved in later. For a few years, it felt like the building was vibrating with the sheer amount of venture capital flowing through the elevators. But honestly, the story of 1455 Market is way more complicated than just "tech companies rented some desks." It’s a story about city tax breaks, massive vacancies, and the shifting reality of what San Francisco actually looks like in a post-2020 world.
The Tax Break That Started It All
You can't talk about this building without talking about the "Twitter Tax Break." Formally known as the Central Market Economic Strategy, this was the city's big play in 2011 to revive a section of Market Street that had been struggling for decades. The deal was simple: if companies moved into this specific zone, they’d get a payroll tax exemption on new employees.
It worked. Maybe too well.
When Hudson Pacific Properties and CPPIB bought the building—which was originally a data center for Bank of America—it was a literal fortress. We're talking 22-foot ceilings on the ground floor and floor plates so large you could get lost trying to find the restroom. It was built for machines, not people. But the tax break turned it into the ultimate landing pad. Jack Dorsey’s Square (now Block, Inc.) grabbed a massive chunk of space. Then came Uber.
Suddenly, a building designed for servers was the nerve center for thousands of engineers.
Why 1455 Market Street San Francisco CA is a "Data Center in Disguise"
Most people walking past the grey exterior don't realize that 1455 Market Street is one of the most structurally robust buildings in the city. Because it started life as a Bank of America processing hub, it has infrastructure that most modern glass towers can only dream of.
👉 See also: Why Amazon Stock is Down Today: What Most People Get Wrong
The power capacity is insane.
We are talking about a building with massive redundant power feeds and floor loads designed to hold heavy mainframe computers. When Square and Uber moved in, they didn't have to worry about the grid failing. This "industrial" backbone is actually why it survived the transition to tech so well. While other startups were dealing with blown fuses in old Victorian offices, the residents of 1455 Market were sitting on a literal power plant.
The layout is also bizarrely expansive. The floor plates are nearly 100,000 square feet. To put that in perspective, most office buildings have floors around 20,000 to 30,000 square feet. It allowed these companies to keep their entire engineering teams on a single level, which was a huge deal for "collaboration culture" back in 2015.
The Great Tech Exodus
Things feel different now.
If you walk by today, the buzz isn't what it used to be. Uber, once the anchor tenant that defined the building’s identity, moved its headquarters to a shiny new campus in Mission Bay. Square (Block) decided not to renew its lease for its massive 470,000-square-foot space in 2022.
That hurt.
It wasn't just a blow to the landlords; it was a signal that the "Mid-Market" experiment was hitting a wall. When these companies left, they didn't just leave empty desks. They took the foot traffic that supported the local coffee shops and the lunchtime economy of the 11th Street corridor.
✨ Don't miss: Stock Market Today Hours: Why Timing Your Trade Is Harder Than You Think
Why did they leave? It’s a mix.
- Remote work: Once the pandemic hit, the need for 100,000-square-foot floor plates vanished overnight.
- Safety concerns: Mid-Market has struggled with street-level issues that made employees hesitant to commute.
- Consolidation: Uber wanted a "forever home" they owned, rather than renting from Hudson Pacific.
By 2024, the building was facing a vacancy crisis. Reports showed the occupancy had dipped significantly, leading the owners to face some tough conversations with their lenders. It’s a classic "boom and bust" cycle played out in real estate.
What’s Inside Now?
It’s not a ghost town, though it might feel quiet compared to the peak years.
Reddit moved in, taking up a significant portion of the space. There's also some high-end retail and fitness stuff on the ground floor. For a while, the building tried to pivot toward a more "lifestyle" oriented mix. You have the Equinox there, which stays busy. There’s also the fact that some city departments and smaller tech firms still hold keys.
But the "anchor" is gone. 1455 Market Street San Francisco CA is currently in a state of reinvention. The owners have been trying to lease out the massive blocks of space left behind by Block and Uber, but in a market where San Francisco’s office vacancy rate has hovered around 30% or higher, it’s an uphill climb.
The Reality of the Mid-Market District
Look, if you're visiting or looking at office space here, you have to be honest about the neighborhood. 1455 Market sits at the intersection of power and poverty. You have City Hall just a few blocks away and the headquarters of some of the richest companies in history, but you also have people struggling on the sidewalk right outside the lobby.
This tension is part of the building's DNA.
🔗 Read more: Kimberly Clark Stock Dividend: What Most People Get Wrong
The "Mid-Market" revitalisation was supposed to fix this. The idea was that by bringing in thousands of high-paid tech workers, the area would naturally become a hub of retail and nightlife. It happened... for a minute. Then it stopped. Now, the city is looking at "vibrancy" initiatives, but the reality is that 1455 Market is a bellwether for the city’s ability to recover.
A Surprising Fact Most People Miss
The building actually has a massive parking garage that serves as a secret hub for the city. Because the floor plates are so large, the garage is equally sprawling. During the height of the ride-sharing wars, this garage was a staging ground for the very services being coded in the offices above. It’s also one of the few places in that part of the city where you can find large-scale secure parking, making it a weirdly vital piece of infrastructure for local government employees who work nearby.
Actionable Insights for Navigating the Area
If you have business at 1455 Market or are considering it for a lease, here is the ground-truth reality of how to handle it.
1. Logistics and Access
The building is right by the Van Ness MUNI station and a short walk from Civic Center BART. Don't bother driving if you can avoid it; the traffic on Market and Mission is a nightmare. If you must drive, use the building's internal garage rather than trying to find street parking, which is basically a myth in this zip code.
2. Safety and Presence
It is a "head on a swivel" kind of neighborhood. The building has heavy security—usually multiple guards in the lobby and at the garage entrances—which makes the interior feel like a fortress. Once you step out toward 11th street, the vibe changes fast. Stick to the main thoroughfares during the day.
3. The "Third Space" Problem
Finding a quick place for a working lunch has gotten harder since the big companies left. While there are still spots like The Market (the high-end grocery store/food hall nearby), many of the smaller boutiques have closed. If you're hosting a meeting, check ahead to see what's actually open.
4. Future Outlook
Keep an eye on the "AI Boom." While the gig-economy giants left, San Francisco is currently seeing a massive surge in AI startups. These companies are currently clustering in SOMA and Mission Bay, but as they grow, the massive, "ready-to-go" infrastructure of 1455 Market might become attractive again. It’s a "plug and play" building for anyone who needs massive computing power and lots of desks.
1455 Market Street San Francisco CA stands as a reminder of a very specific era of the 21st century. It was a time of "move fast and break things," and while many of those things did indeed break, the building itself remains—a heavy, concrete testament to the fact that in San Francisco, the only constant is that everything eventually changes.
Next Steps for Stakeholders
- Check Current Listings: If you're looking for office space, the vacancy rates here mean there are deals to be had, but you’ll need to negotiate hard on tenant improvements.
- Monitor City Zoning: Keep an eye on San Francisco’s "commercial to residential" conversion discussions. While 1455 Market’s deep floor plates make it a terrible candidate for apartments (no windows in the middle), the city is looking at other "flexible use" permits that could change who your neighbors are.
- Verify Security Protocols: If you are a vendor or visitor, ensure you have a digital invite pre-cleared. The building’s security posture is significantly tighter than a standard SOMA warehouse.