Project Description
Located in San Francisco’s emerging Rincon Hill residential district, 399 Fremont is a high-density residential development that is sensitive and responsive to its complex urban location. Composed of a 42-story tower and an eight-story podium, the 596,000-square-foot development features 452 apartments, modern tenant amenities, and 238 structured parking spaces. The surrounding Freemont Street context changes from low- to high-rise as the street ascends the steep Rincon Hill. The project’s massing successfully bridges these changes in street scales and elevation by locating the eight-story podium at the bottom and the tower at the top of the hill. A series of townhome entryways and landscaped planters activate the streetscape of the lower building while the tower’s lobby and retail enlivens the street at the crest of the hill. The podium contains above- and below-grade structured parking for the development and is masked by single-loaded residential units located above the podium’s two-story townhomes. The building’s outdoor and indoor amenity spaces are located above the garage at the fifth level of the podium and tower. The common amenities program contains a library, various conference rooms, a swimming pool, day spa, and fitness center. The tower’s top floor hold the common area “sky lounge” and outdoor terrace overlooking the San Francisco skyline and Bay Bridge. Solar hot water systems were installed on 399 Fremont’s roof, making it the world’s tallest solar water heating installation. This innovative application reduces the hot water heating energy by 30 percent, eliminating greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing the carbon footprint within the community. As a result, the project received a $250,000 rebate from the California Public Utilities Commission as part of its energy-reduction incentive. 399 Fremont features an innovative new type of heat pump system that greatly reduced its size from a bulky, standard configuration to a skinny split system, providing spacious units. The building includes a landscaped paseo, which offers both the feel of a pocket park and a convenient pedestrian link between upper and lower Rincon Hill for community access through the site.