Mills Building

1. 1890

   Built to a design by the Chicago firm Burnham and Root, mostly the work of John Wellborn Root — a ten-storey steel-frame office building, one of the city's first three steel-framed buildings and the only one that has survived.

   National Register of Historic Places nomination, National Park Service
2. 1900

   Built.

3. February 1907

   Reconstructed after the 1906 earthquake and fire — the exterior survived with relatively minor damage while the interior was badly damaged; the work is attributed to Willis Polk.

   National Register of Historic Places nomination, National Park Service
4. August 1907

   Extended 70 feet along Bush Street at the building's full height; the building application names Daniel Burnham as architect.

   National Register of Historic Places nomination, National Park Service
5. 1908-1936

   Architect August Nordin kept his practice in the Mills Building here from 1908 until his death in 1936.

   Architecture, Planning & Preservation Professionals: A Collection of Biographies, adopted 2021
6. October 1, 1913

   B. de Luca contracted for the excavation and foundations of the addition on the Bush Street side, at $8,608.

   The San Francisco Call, 1 October 1913, p. 13
7. 1914

   A five-storey addition, 68.75 feet wide, was built.

   National Register of Historic Places nomination, National Park Service
8. 1918

   Sixth through tenth floors were added over the 1914 addition; the permit names J. S. Bogard as engineer.

   National Register of Historic Places nomination, National Park Service
9. May 29, 1975

   The City Planning Commission unanimously approved designating the Mills Building and Mills Tower a single city landmark; the owners had asked for a Certificate of Merit instead, worried about the review of ground-floor shopfronts, which then held a post office among six or seven tenants.

   San Francisco City Planning Commission minutes, San Francisco Public Library (Internet Archive)
10. April 13, 1977

    Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, together with the adjoining Mills Tower, as the Mills Building and Tower.

    National Register of Historic Places nomination, National Park Service
11. Oct 1981

    Permit 8108705 $$$ $150,000

    Additions alterations or repairs.

12. Jul 1983

    Permit 8306839 $$$ $2,600,000

    Interior alteration to existing area.

13. Oct 1987

    Permit 8714962 $$$ $750,000

    Drywall & framing, sprklr, electrical, marble floors, doors, jambs.

14. Dec 2001

    Permit 200112215833 $$$ $1,600,000

    Installation of new roof mounted chillers on new structural steel support, chillers to be powered by.

15. Jan 2008

    Permit 200801182887 $$$ $1,600,000

    Tenant improments, build new offices and support facilities, upgrade mechanical and electrical systems. no increase in office space. life safety under separate permit.

16. Jul 2011

    Permit 201107120016 $$$ $900,000

    Install additional coding tower & piping for future cooling capacity for future ti work. cooling tower to e installed on rooftop on new structural steel framing.

17. Nov 2011

    Permit 201111179096 $$$ $1,200,000

    7th floor-tenant improvement of office space-new partitions & finishes. new lighting throughout.

18. Dec 2012

    Permit 201212176310 $$$ $950,000

    Ti on 6th fl, to include new men's restroom, non structural & finish upgrades. the scope of work includes architectural, mechanical, electrical & plumbing. no work to exterior. f/a and sprinkler on seperate prermit.

19. Mar 2015

    Permit 201503049975 $$$ $679,350

    9th floor: ti to existing office space. non structural partitions, demolition, doors, glazing, lighting, ele, ceiling, finishes & restrooms. maher- not req'd.

20. Jun 2015

    Permit 201506017645 $$$ $120,000

    Interior non structural demolition. new interior partitions. electrical work included.

21. Mar 2016

    Permit 201603303493 $$$ $1,000,000

    9th floor: partial floor interior t.i. in an existing unoccupied suite.work includes non-bearig partitions, ceilings, finishes & mep & limited structural work; maher n/a.life safety deferred.

22. Oct 2018

    Permit 201810233864 $$$ $3,000,000

    Interior ti including new partitions to make offices, lobby, conference rooms and lounge area of raised floor. no exterior work, plumbing work to include new single occupant rr & sinks in brea areas.

23. Mar 2019

    Permit 201903084752 $$$ $1,700,000

    2nd floor. demolition of non-structural partitions & ceilings, restrooms, raised flooring, portions of structural sub-floor & egress stair. construct sub-floor & stair clean up. t.i & restrooms included in phase 2. per ab-017 vacant space.

24. Jun 2019

    Permit 201906062714 $$$ $1,445,000

    Work includes improvements on 2nd fl - phase 2 - construction includes new lighting and restrooms, including new finishes, fixtures and accessories. maher na.

25. Dec 2019

    Permit 201912169627 $$$ $1,200,000

    Demolition of existing mechanical penthouse, and construction of new skylight, including structural improvements to existing curb to reamin and new repaired roofing.**maher n/a**.

26. Nov 2020

    Permit 202011027935 $$$ $1,110,515

    Existing ground floor lobby includes: demolition of existing ceilings, light fixtures, wall surfaces & finishes, specialty interior glazim & non-compliant common area restroom items. construction of new fixtures & accessable restroom upgrades.

27. Jun 2021

    Permit 202106283354 $$$ $1,471,776

    Work includes: improvements on the basement floor: demolition includes removal of non-structural ceilings, lighting & finishes. construction includes non -structural partitions ceilinfgs, lighting, finishes, & proving nw accessble showers, restrooms, & locker rooms. nw rated shafts to 3rd floor lightwell.

28. Dec 2022

    Permit 202212198630 $$$ $2,600,000

    2nd floor t.i. non structural partitions, structural elements, ceilings, fixtures and finishes. mep deferred.

29. Dec 2022

    Permit 202212208707 $$$ $700,000

    Mechanical, new energy recovery ventilator, 1 sound trap, 6 vrv condenser units. new electrical plumbing, new roof receptor for vrv. structural support for hvac equip.

30. Apr 2023

    Permit 202304216187 $$$ $3,232,440

    New mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems for office t.i. deffered submittal for building permit #2022-1219-8630.

31. Oct 2024

    Withdrawn Permit 202410092648 $$$ $850,000

    Roof demolition: tear off, haul, and dispose of eixsting roofing to down to structural concrete deck. prime and prepare concrete deck to receive sbs roofing. install sbs base sheet, heat welded (torch), install sbs cap sheet, heat welded (torch). install 2-ply flashings, pipe boots, termination bars.

32. Jun 2025

    Permit 202506108321 $$$ $756,000

    10 story building: reroofing remove existing roofing on floor roof down to concrete deck. install 2 ply sbs modified bitumen roofing system with title 24 complaint cap sheet. (torch down, hot work).

33. Jul 2025

    Withdrawn Permit 202507160966 $$$ $136,000

    Ste: 600 & 692. t.i. improvement to include demolition of non-structrual partitions & ceiling, construction of new partitions, ceilings, power and finishes. electrical, plumbing, life/safety/fire & fire sprinklers to be submitted on a separate permit.

34. Nov 2025

    Issued Permit 202511069032 $$$ $1,475,380

    Interior ti @ suite 350 construction of new non-structural partitions, fixtures, millwork and finishes. demolition permit application 202510086992.

35. Aug 2026

    Filed Permit 202608136570 $$$ $125,000

    7th floor suite #700: t.i. to include demolition of non structural partitions & ceiling. construction of new partitions, ceiling, power & finishes. fire, life safety sprinklers to be on seperate permits.

DBI holds 644 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 644. 10 of them are nominal $1 street-space or sidewalk permits. The assessor's roll gives 1900; the National Register nomination and the city's statement on Progressive Era and early revival styles both give 1890.