Solbach Files Plans for 49-Story SoMa Tower
The pre-application proposes 538 homes, including 41 deed-restricted affordable units, at 501 Brannan Street.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Remote Work
Live Poll
Should your city approve more large apartment towers to ease housing costs?
Solbach Property Group has filed a pre-application for a 49-story mixed-use tower at 501 Brannan Street in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood. The project would stand roughly 553 feet tall and include 538 proposed units, along with about 7,000 square feet of commercial retail space.
Why it matters
The updated plans shrink the unit count from a prior 47-story proposal of 520 rental apartments while adding a condominium component and merging two lots. The filing seeks zoning waivers for height, bulk, lot mergers, and open space, which would shape how much housing the site ultimately delivers in San Francisco.
The 714,590-square-foot development includes 623,650 square feet of housing and 7,000 square feet of retail, against 3,270 square feet of retail in the earlier proposal. Whether the zoning waivers for height and bulk will be approved has not been determined.
The players
Solbach Property Group
Solbach Property Group is the developer behind the proposed 49-story mixed-use tower at 501 Brannan Street, and it previously proposed a 47-story version for the same site.
Solomon Cordwell Buenz
Solomon Cordwell Buenz is a Chicago-based architecture firm responsible for the design of the proposed tower.
The details
The four-story podium garage covers 82,775 square feet and rises beneath a ten-story podium capped with open space, with the tower above it. Solomon Cordwell Buenz is responsible for the design, and the project invokes Senate Bill 330, Senate Bill 423, and the State Density Bonus law on the roughly 0.7-acre site along 4th Street between Brannan and Bluxome streets.
Timeline
Pre-application filed, reported November 3, 2026
Market Landscape
The filing invokes Senate Bill 330 and the State Density Bonus Law, state tools that allow developers to exceed local zoning limits in exchange for housing. The project's 32.5% density bonus through affordable units shows how these statutes are being used to add housing in dense San Francisco neighborhoods.
If approved, the project would add 538 homes, including 41 affordable units, to the SoMa housing supply near the Muni T Third Street light rail station and Caltrain. The filing is only a pre-application, so no move-in timing or pricing has been set.
The takeaway
Projects filed under state density laws can reshape neighborhood housing supply, but pre-application stages often change before construction. Residents tracking SoMa development should watch for the formal application and any zoning decisions on the requested waivers.
Further reading
For more on how work patterns shape demand for downtown housing, explore Remote Work coverage in San Francisco.
Source note: This article includes information reported by San Francisco YIMBY.
Live Poll
Should your city approve more large apartment towers to ease housing costs?
