A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco
Why the skyscraper race is back on when SF has plenty of empty offices (SF Standard): Although one-third of San Francisco’s 90 million square feet of office space remains vacant since the pandemic, several developers are pursuing plans to build the City’s next great skyscraper, with investor backing.
Apartment rents soar to all-time highs — ‘San Francisco is rewriting its own record books’ (SF Business Times): San Francisco’s apartment rents are at their highest levels ever, driven by competition from tech workers. Local rent growth is significantly outpacing national trends.
S.F. tech company expands its footprint as leasing surge lifts downtown office market (SF Chronicle): A year after signing a long-term, 150,000 square foot lease at One Sansome, Databricks has expanded its office footprint in the space by 90,000 square feet, showing strong momentum for the City’s office market.
Bay Area
Big Tech’s favorite landlord is leaning into housing. It’s daring others to follow (SF Standard): The Sobrato Organization, long known for developing major Silicon Valley corporate tech campuses, is turning significant attention toward affordable housing, marked by the opening of The Millton, a 120-unit all-affordable development in Redwood City.
Newsom issues ‘final warning’ to cities over housing law violations — only one is in the Bay Area (Mercury News): Gov. Gavin Newsom issued notices to 15 jurisdictions, including Half Moon Bay, giving them 30 days to address housing law violations before potential referral to the Attorney General. The jurisdictions are more than two years behind on securing state-certified housing elements, and continued noncompliance could expose them to litigation, fines, loss of state funding, and builder’s remedy consequences.
California and Beyond
California considering a first of its kind idea to boost factory-built housing (CalMatters): The Legislature is considering a new proposal that would allow the state to serve as a financial backstop for factory-built housing projects. Under AB 2166, introduced by Buffy Wicks, the state would provide credit support to surety companies, enabling them to issue payment and performance bonds for factory-built construction.
Tight Curves and Wide Horizons: The Return of Highway 1 (NY Times): A travel feature explores the reopening of California’s Highway 1 through Big Sur and reflects on how recurring landslides, climate pressures, and costly repairs continue to shape the future of one of the state’s most iconic transportation corridors.
Cities scramble to comply with or fight major state housing law (CalMatters): With a July 1 deadline looming for local governments to introduce local “wiggle room” around SB 79, which broadly increases building height limits near major transit stops, cities around the state are exploring ways to tailor their own plans or buy themselves more time.
A Bill Aimed at Creating Homes Is Leaving Plots Empty Instead (Wall Street Journal): A U.S. Senate housing bill would significantly restrict the build-to-rent industry, causing financing to pull back and putting projects on pause.
California blew a hole in environmental planning law. Now, lawmakers are trying to fix it (CalMatters): California lawmakers are scrambling to more clearly define the new CEQA exemption for “advanced manufacturing” passed as part of the 2025 CEQA reform. The proposed fix would add limits and community protections, setting up a fight between environmental justice advocates seeking more review and industry groups arguing that streamlined approvals are needed for clean-energy manufacturing and economic development.
