# San Francisco Office Law Threatens New Development

> San Francisco’s 1980s office development law risks bankrupting city’s available square footage for new towers.
- Title: San Francisco Office Law Threatens New Development | Shortify
- Summary: San Francisco’s 1980s office development law risks bankrupting city’s available square footage for new towers.
- Keywords: san francisco, office development, mccourt partners, lincoln property company, golden gate university, 536 mission street, office tower, affordable housing, real estate, business, San, Francisco
- Source: The Real Deal — https://therealdeal.com/national/2026/10/11/how-a-1980s-law-threatens-office-development-in-san-francisco
- Author: Kennedy Zak
- Published: 2026-10-11T13:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: san francisco, office development, mccourt partners, lincoln property company, golden gate university, 536 mission street, office tower, affordable housing, real estate, business
## San Francisco’s office market surges
Record leasing activity and surging rents drive San Francisco’s office market momentum.
## 1985 office development law
San Francisco passed a 1985 law limiting new office developments to 950,000 square feet annually.

> aims to ensure a manageable rate of new development and to guard against typical 'boom and bust' cycles
## 2026 leasing record
2026 will break San Francisco’s previous record for leases over 100,000 square feet by 1.1 million square feet.
## 2020 law amendment
The 1985 law was amended in 2020 to tie annual office development to affordable housing production.
## 813,000 square feet available
San Francisco has 813,000 square feet for large office developments as of late June 2026.
## McCourt-Lincoln tower proposal
McCourt Partners and Lincoln Property Company want to build a 752-foot tower with 1.4 million square feet of office space.
## Development allocation crisis
San Francisco’s office development allocation could be bankrupted by McCourt-Lincoln’s project without significant changes to the law.

> If the full allocation was granted here, that would be all the allocation that we have
## Key takeaway

San Francisco’s 1980s office development law could bankrupt the city’s available square footage for new office towers.