A one-of-a-kind home for artists, culture keepers, journalists & storytellers.

Images courtesy of Market Street Arts (photos by Alyse Panitz), KALW, Alyssa Cortez, & CAST (photos by Mogli Maureal)

48,313 sq ft

9 floors

3,900 - 14,000
available sq ft

Warfield Commons concept rendering by Minnie Phan

Warfield Commons concept rendering by Minnie Phan

A nine-story promise to the creative pulse of the Bay Area, reflecting our stories, our voices, our communities

Warfield Commons isn’t just a building. It’s a rallying cry for what’s possible when mission-driven organizations step into leadership. This historic landmark is being reborn as a vibrant, multi-story hub for independent media, arts, and cultural organizations.

A collaboration between Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) and KALW Public Media, the Warfield Commons is a bold and timely investment in the soul of San Francisco at 988 Market Street, in the storied Warfield Building.

Together, we’re building a Bay Area where media and the arts are not just decorative, but foundational—to our economy, to our democracy, and to our daily lives.

Rents starting as low as $3,100/month.

Explore Warfield Commons

Take a virtual tour of our 3rd, 5th, and 6th floors where the greatest range of spaces are currently available. Check out our specs below to see the full list of availabilities throughout the rest of the building.

  • Modern interior with concrete walls, large green plants, a mural of a large leaf on the wall, black tiled floor, and sunlight filtering through window blinds creating shadows.

    Ground Floor (Retail Space)

  • Interior of a restaurant or cafe with a white brick wall featuring a large green leaf mural, a tiled floor, and a small kitchen area with white cabinets and countertops.

    Ground Floor (Retail Space)

  • Interior of a building lobby with stairs, a mailroom with black mailboxes, and a glass and wood staircase behind a metal railing.

    Ground Floor (Lobby)

  • Two closed black elevator doors in a building hallway, with an elevator control panel and safety instructions on the wall beside them.

    Ground Floor (Lobby)

  • Empty wooden display nook with built-in shelves and a beige rug, in a modern interior with glass walls and wooden flooring, sunlight casting shadows.

    2nd Floor

  • Empty modern office with large windows, tiled floor, and minimal furniture.

    2nd Floor

  • Empty modern office space with brick walls, large windows, gray carpet, and minimal furnishings.

    3rd Floor

  • Empty industrial-style open space with polished concrete floors, exposed ceiling pipes, large windows, and a small kitchenette with white cabinets and stainless steel appliances.

    3rd Floor

  • Empty office space with large windows, exposed brick walls, ceiling pipes, and sunlight casting shadows on the floor.

    5th Floor

  • Empty office space with gray walls, black carpet, exposed concrete ceiling, and large windows on the left side allowing sunlight to stream in.

    5th Floor

  • Empty office space with large windows, exposed brick walls, and a ceiling with visible ductwork and pipes.

    6th Floor

  • Empty office space under construction with large windows, exposed ceiling pipes, and a central concrete support pillar, with sunlight streaming in through the windows.

    6th Floor

  • Rooftop with decorative green leaf pattern and white swirl design, surrounded by city buildings

    7th Floor Outdoor Deck

  • Empty underground parking garage with concrete floors and walls, ceiling with exposed pipes and ducts, overhead fluorescent lighting, a partially painted wall with abstract art, and two open doorways.

    Basement

Features & Benefits

San Francisco street scene with tall buildings, pedestrians crossing intersection, vehicles on the road, and overhead utility wires in a city setting.

Reduced rates made possible by nonprofit ownership, designed to keep cultural and media organizations rooted in San Francisco.

Below-Market Rates

Panel discussion in a large room with purple lighting, featuring four people seated at a table with microphones, and a large audience watching.

Free Public Programs

More than 80 cultural events a year — open to all and rooted in community voice.

A San Francisco MUNI train at an underground station with workers and a woman standing on the platform, digital signs overhead, and a silver train labeled 'TEST CAR' at the front.

A safe, welcoming space at Market & Taylor — easily reachable by BART, MUNI, bike, or on foot, centrally located in the heart of Downtown SF.

Easy Transit Access & Location

A panel discussion at an event titled 'Carving Out Creative Spaces,' featuring three speakers seated on stage with an audience. Behind them, a large screen displays event information and artwork of two abstracted individuals.

A space for gatherings that bring together artists, organizers, and media-makers to imagine and build a better city.

Cultural Convenings

Amenities

Conference rooms

Move-in ready spaces

On-site security

Bicycle storage

Tenant lounge

Outdoor patio

Production/podcast studios

Proximity to Warfield Theater & SF’s Theatre District

On-site building management

Discounted rentals at other CAST-operated facilities including theaters, dance studios, and co-working spaces

A community anchor reshaping downtown

We have a rare chance to build something enduring—a home for storytelling, artistry, and community voice, in the Mid-Market district of San Francisco.

As the new homebase for one of the oldest public radio stations in the country, KALW is creating a 21st-century storytelling lab, with podcast studios, training spaces, classrooms, and newsroom facilities.

CAST’s leadership ensures that the space will remain an affordable sanctuary for creative and cultural workers in the City, free from the pressures of an escalating real estate market where displacement is a constant threat. It’s not a pop-up—it’s a permanent anchor.

People working on art projects in an art studio with separate rooms and exposed ceiling pipes.

Warfield Commons concept renderings of artist studios by Allie Johnson

In this creative ecosystem, we envision shared and individual studio spaces for artists, alongside meeting and collaboration spaces where journalists, media makers, and creatives can connect, grow their audiences, and cross-pollinate ideas.

3rd Floor artist studios and workspace rendering by Allie Johnson

3rd Floor artist studios and workspace rendering by Allie Johnson

2nd floor tenant lounge rendering by Allie Johnson

2nd floor tenant lounge rendering by Allie Johnson

2nd floor tenant lounge rendering by Allie Johnson

2nd floor tenant lounge rendering by Allie Johnson

Culture lives & thrives in San Francisco’s Cultural Corridor.

San Francisco is at an inflection point. After years of pandemic disruption, storefront vacancies, and shifting urban patterns, the city’s downtown is calling for a new vision—one rooted not in tech or tourism alone, but in creativity, culture, and civic connection.

Warfield Commons will spark new foot traffic, activate street life, incubate local talent, and help power the economic recovery of the Mid-Market corridor that’s already underway, adding to the existing cultural assets that continue to bring joy and vibrancy to this neighborhood. This is cultural strategy as civic strategy.

This isn’t just any corner—it’s one that has seen struggle, survival, resistance, and reinvention. Warfield Commons honors that layered history by creating a space where those stories can be heard, seen, and shaped by the people who live them.

FAQs

  • Leases start June 1st. Earlier access is dependent on the tenant’s operations and determined on a case-by-case basis.

  • Yes, many spaces are move-in ready as they were previously occupied. Every floor includes either canned, linear, and/or LED track lighting. Throughout the floors, you will find multiple remote control panels for HVAC to isolate and control temperatures. The facility went through a series of upgrades and renovations from 2014-2018 and is LEED certified. The building is assessed to have low-moderate level of risk in an earthquake, with only localized structural damage.

  • The $2.50/sq ft rate is all-inclusive (full-service), covering utilities and other facility maintenance costs like janitorial, pest control, security, etc.

    The $2.50/sq ft rate applies to the Occupied and Rentable square feet. Common area spaces—including lobby areas, 2nd floor bathrooms, public corridors, stairs, bike room, and elevators—incurs a CAM (common area maintenance) charge that is in addition to your occupied square feet. Rentable square feet equals your occupied space plus a portion of the building’s common areas.

  • Occupied square feet is the actual, usable area within a building that is physically occupied by a tenant for your exclusive use. Rentable square feet includes the tenant’s share of the common areas, elevators, stairs, lobbies, corridors, bike room, and building services spaces.

  • No. We want to nurture an inclusive ecosystem that includes individual professionals, fiscally sponsored groups working in the arts, social impact and community organizations, in addition to nonprofits. The building will be made up of a mix of organizations—the majority of which will be nonprofits. We intend to keep the for-profit presence at a maximum of 2 floors out of the total building plus the ground floor retail unit and basement.

    Are you open to leasing to for-profits?
    Yes! We are open to leasing to for-profits, especially those that are mission-aligned across journalism, arts, and culture. Besides taking an upper floor(s), potential spaces that could work for a for-profit include the ground floor retail space (757 sq ft) or the basement (2,268 sq ft). We remain open to corporate partnerships and/or collaborating with neighboring hotels to book the meeting spaces, in service of making the space more affordable and accessible to other tenants and community members.

Still have questions?

Check out our full FAQs here or contact us below.

Be a foundational partner at one of the city’s most iconic buildings.

Join us and together we can build a new San Francisco through the Warfield Commons, a media and arts ecosystem that’s grounded in authenticity, driven by community, and powerful enough to help shape the city’s future.

Support the work we are doing.

Want to connect and learn more?
Contact leasingwc@cast-sf.org