William Volker Building

1. 1929

   Built in Art Deco form for the William Volker company, the first component finished just before the stock-market crash of October 1929 and a further component in 1939.

   Transit Center District Survey, adopted 2012
2. 1929

   The William Volker Building went up in 1929 to the design of George Kelham: a reinforced concrete structure faced in light-brown brick, four storeys and a mezzanine over a basement, about fifty feet tall, with Art Deco detail on the Howard Street front and nine brick pilasters running from the storefront to the roof. It was built for a Kansas City distributor of furniture and window shades, which had opened a San Francisco branch in 1906. It was found individually eligible for the National Register in 1977 and is a Category II Significant Building under Article 11.

   222 Second Street Office Project DEIR, SF Planning Dept., 2010
3. 1930s

   An addition of the 1930s was the work of Wilbur D. Peugh, who also designed interior alterations here later.

   222 Second Street Office Project DEIR, SF Planning Dept., 2010
4. 1949

   A single-storey concrete loading dock was added at the south-east corner in 1949, screened at the time by one- and two-storey buildings on Howard and Tehama Streets that stood until about 1990.

   222 Second Street Office Project DEIR, SF Planning Dept., 2010
5. Aug 1985

   Permit 8509156 $$$ $4,000

   New grocery store; new handicapped entrance ramp.

6. Apr 1988

   Permit 8804732 $$$ $300,000

   Construct partitions, electrical & plumbing work.

7. Jun 1990

   Permit 9012871 $$$ $445,000

   Tenant improvement for men's clothing store.

8. Oct 1990

   Permit 9021507 $$$ $221,970

   Cti-1.

9. Jul 2007

   Permit 200707176980 $$$ $500,000

   Shoring and underpinning as a result of adjacent new construction at 645 howard street & 1 hawthorne bpn# 200509082369.

10. 2008

    Recorded in the city's 2008 survey of the Transit Center District, adopted in 2012, as a contributor to the proposed New Montgomery, Mission & Second Historic District.

    Transit Center District Survey, adopted 2012
11. Mar 2012

    Permit 201203075597 $$$ $420,000

    Int. voluntary seismic & shell improvements on basement, 1st & 2nd floors.work includes demolition of existingslabs new concrete reinforcing panels, strengthening floor diaphragms. new partitions new bathrooms.new concrete stairways. no exterior work. fire protection under separate permit.

12. Apr 2012

    Permit 201204168392 $$$ $95,000

    M.e.p work only for remodel on ground & 2nd floors basement & roof. t.i under separate permit. fire protection under separate permit.

13. Jun 2012

    Issued Permit 201206011671 $$$ $45,000

    Installation of a new complete and operable automatic wet fire sprinkler system in all unsprinklered portions of entire building per nfpa 13 and cbc 2010.

14. Aug 2012

    Permit 201208107127 $$$ $650,000

    Revision to permit application 201203075597, new work is demolition to non-struct walls on floors 3, 4, 5. seismic upgrade to floors 3, 4, 5. all iimprovements confined to shell of building. no tenant improvement under this permit. fire protection under separate permit.

15. Feb 2013

    Issued Permit 201302200509 $$$ $400,000

    New 5th floor restrooms, new rooftop mechanical unit, new exhaust duct, minor interior partition work in advance of tenant improvement.

16. Apr 2013

    Permit 201304225081 $$$ $700,000

    T.i. of lower 2 floor and basement. work to include minor improvements to lighting, casework, partitions. no work to exterior, no structral, no shell modifications. break area with sink and dishwasher. electrical/ lighting under separate permit.

17. May 2013

    Issued Permit 201305036118 $$$ $350,000

    Underpinning as a result of adjacent new construction at 222 2nd st project. ( reference permit application 200711309386s).

18. Oct 2013

    Permit 201310240142 $$$ $650,000

    Tenant improvements, including non-structural partitions, interior doors, glazing, carpeting, & ceiling finishes.

19. Nov 2013

    Permit 201311262864 $$$ $296,000

    Hvac distribution and controls for 5th fl including duct, vav boxes, hhn priping, ductless split system, refrigerant and condensate piping. architectuer reference on permit application 201310240142.

20. May 2014

    Permit 201405216325 $$$ $350,000

    New 3rd fl restrooms in advance of tenant improvements. mep under separate permit (revised 5-22-14).

21. Jun 2014

    Permit 201406259427 $$$ $600,000

    3rd floor interior tenant improvements, partitoins, doors, hardware, finishes.

22. Jun 2014

    Permit 201406269541 $$$ $270,000

    3/f: hvac distribution and controls for 3rd floor including ducts, vav boxes, hhw piping, ductless split system and refrigerant piping. ref. appl # 201406259427. maher n/a.

23. Nov 2015

    Permit 201511122390 $$$ $975,000

    4th floor: new tenant construction work. new non-structural gwb partitions, interior doors glazing, paint, carpet, and upgrade of existing accessible restrooms.

24. Jan 2016

    Permit 201601147111 $$$ $325,000

    #400- hvac distribution & controls for 4th floor ti including ducts, vav boxes, hhw piping, ductless split systems, ac unit & refrigerant piping. ref pa 2015-1112-2390.

25. Dec 2017

    Permit 201712207009 $$$ $140,000

    B, 1, 2: tenant improvement, interior 1, 592 sq ft. no exterior, landscape or signage work, no structural, no change of occupancy. mechanical, lighting & electrical under sep permit.

26. Dec 2025

    Issued Permit 202512192339 $$$ $275,900

    Basement level: interior ti removal of non structrual partitions, finishes and millwork. new non structrual partitions, finishes, break room millwork and upgrade to restrooms for accessibility.

DBI holds 201 permits for this parcel, most of them tenant improvements on individual floors. The timeline shows the 24 largest by stated cost, plus the earliest on file; the DBI query in the sources below returns all 201. 17 of them are nominal $1 street-space or sidewalk permits. 4 expired permits are not shown.