The Design District Spent 50 Years Built for the Trade. Now AI Is Moving In.

San Francisco's Design District, also called Showplace Square, is changing tenants. Together AI signed a lease this spring for about 150,000 square feet at 2 Henry Adams Street, the 1915 brick building that's been one of the San Francisco Design Center's two showroom buildings for five decades. It's the clearest sign yet that a district built for the furniture trade is becoming something broader.

Key Findings

• Together AI leased about 150,000 square feet on two floors at 2 Henry Adams, a six-year lease signed this spring with a move-in planned for summer 2026.
• Showplace Square isn't SoMa. City planning puts it in its own area plan with Potrero Hill, between the Mission, Mission Bay and SoMa.
• The district dates to 1973, when Henry Adams bought the Showplace building and moved design showrooms there from Jackson Square.
• Niku Steakhouse anchors the traffic circle with one Michelin star, back open since May 2025 after a fire.
• One Henry Adams, the district's big residential building, is rentals, not condos. There's no new condo project in the district itself.

A District Built for the Trade

The Design District didn't start as a place to live or eat. In 1973, Henry Adams bought the Showplace building, a 1915 building-materials warehouse, and moved design showrooms there from the Ice House in Jackson Square, according to the Design Center and Henry magazine's history. He later added the Galleria, a former cold-storage building. The street out front carries his name.

The Design Center still works much the way it always has. It counts over 100 showrooms representing more than 2,000 manufacturers. The buildings are open to browse on weekdays, but buying generally runs through a design professional or the center's own buying services. The city's Showplace Square/Potrero Hill Area Plan still calls the area "an important furniture and interior design center that serves a national market."

Big brick floor plates, built for moving product rather than drawing walk-in shoppers, are exactly what made it easy to overlook for fifty years. They're also exactly what a fast-growing company needs.

The Lease That Changes the Read

In April, Together AI signed for about 150,000 square feet across two floors at 2 Henry Adams, The Real Deal reported. It's a six-year lease in the roughly 329,000 square foot building, with the company planning to move in this summer from about 3,000 square feet on Rhode Island Street. That's a showroom building taking on a big tech tenant.

It isn't the only one looking. In January, Hoodline reported that Physical Intelligence was close to a sublease for about 60,000 square feet at 808 Brannan. The district's appeal to these companies is the same thing that made it a showroom hub: large, open floor plates a short trip from Mission Bay.

The showrooms aren't gone. Nothing I've found says the Design Center is leaving. But the mix in these buildings is shifting, and a daytime population of engineers is a different neighbor than a trade buyer who comes in twice a year.

The Corner That Serves Dinner

The district's after-hours emptiness has been an opening for restaurants too. Niku Steakhouse, at 61 Division Street by the traffic circle, holds one Michelin star in the 2026 guide, a star it first earned in 2021. Executive Chef Dustin Falcon came up through Lazy Bear and The French Laundry. A fire closed the restaurant in March 2025, and it reopened on May 30, 2025.

Next door at 57 Division, The Butcher Shop by Niku Steakhouse runs a daytime counter built around a wagyu smashburger. The same group's sushi restaurant, Omakase, sits nearby at 665 Townsend.

It's a small cluster, not a restaurant row. But it says something about the district that its best-known dinner reservation is at a traffic circle designed around loading docks.

What This Means If You Own Nearby or Are Buying Nearby

Showplace Square itself has almost no condo inventory. Its best-known residential building, One Henry Adams, is an Equity Residential rental. If you want to own near here, you're mostly looking at Mission Bay, the edges of SoMa and Potrero Hill.

That's why a lease like Together AI's matters beyond the district. New offices bring new employees, and some of them will want to live close. I wrote about the citywide picture in my September market report: Compass had the San Francisco condo median at $1.233M in August, up 22 percent year over year, with actives down 36 percent. I wouldn't pin that on one lease. But when the companies growing fastest in the city pick a neighborhood, the condo buildings a short walk away are the first place I watch.

From experience: buyers often judge an area by its daytime foot traffic. A district that's been quiet for decades can change character quickly once a few big employers move in, and the listings nearby don't always reflect it right away.

FAQ

Is the Design District part of SoMa?
No. San Francisco's planning department puts Showplace Square in its own area plan with Potrero Hill. It sits between the Mission, Mission Bay and SoMa.

Can the public shop at the San Francisco Design Center?
You can browse the buildings on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Buying generally goes through a design professional or the Design Center's on-site buying services.

Which AI company leased space in the Design District?
Together AI signed a six-year lease for about 150,000 square feet at 2 Henry Adams Street, reported in April 2026, with a move-in planned for summer 2026.

Is One Henry Adams a condo building?
No. One Henry Adams is a rental building owned by Equity Residential. There's no new condo project in the district itself.

Is Niku Steakhouse open?
Yes. It reopened May 30, 2025, after a March 2025 fire, and it holds one Michelin star in the 2026 guide.

Work With Sean Mamola

Wondering how new offices in Showplace Square and Mission Bay could shape the condo market a few blocks away? Sean Mamola is a Global Luxury Specialist with Compass and a Bay Area native with 17+ years of experience, from entry-level condos to an $8.7M South Beach penthouse. He can walk you through the buildings, the blocks and the comps.

Schedule a consultation or call (415) 704-3640.