[A][9] The South Tower contains high-speed elevators with special features for moving residents effectively, and a large water tank designed to help the skyscraper withstand strong winds and earthquakes.

The building site, located right next to the western approach of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, formerly contained a clock tower.

As the South Tower neared completion, it generated controversy concerning view encroachment, high pricing, and architectural style.

[3][22] The North Tower has a similar design, except it is shorter and the curved aluminum and glass side faces northwest.

[9][22] Both skyscrapers of the Rincon Hill project contain an oval-shaped crown housing mechanical equipment.

[22][25][26] The crown of the South Tower contains a band of 25 LED floodlights that remain lit all night.

The core is attached to the outrigger columns by diagonal, steel buckling-restrained braces which are designed to dissipate energy during an earthquake through controlled hysteretic behavior.

Also of note is the controlled-rocking system which features vertical post-tensioning which runs the height of the building through ducts within the reinforced-concrete shear-wall core.

[28][29] At the top of the building is a large tuned sloshing damper[30] which holds up to 50,000 gallons (189,250 litres) of water and weighs 416,500 pounds (185,440 kg).

[21] There are two liquid damper screens in each tank to control the flow of the water to counter the sway from the powerful Pacific winds, which can reach hurricane-force.

[32] The North Tower elevators were installed by Otis Worldwide Corporation with SkyRise Motors and serving 49 floors.

[6][36] The 183 ft (56 m) triangle-section clock tower, owned by Union 76 and then Bank of America, was built on the site circa 1955.

[15] After the Transbay Plan the city changed the zoning in the Rincon Hill neighborhood and raised height limits.

[37] A second version of One Rincon Hill was proposed in response to these zoning changes, in which the height was increased to 60 stories.

[39][40] Three months after San Francisco approved the project, construction began on the South Tower with a groundbreaking ceremony on November 10, 2005.

However, following the worldwide financial crisis of the late summer and fall of 2008, the project's developers announced that construction of the second tower was indefinitely on hold.

With improving economic conditions in the city, construction started on this tower in October 2012;[46] its first residents moved in August 2014.

[47] With condo prices set from US$500,000 to US$2 million, many critics have noted that the One Rincon Hill complex is too expensive for most San Franciscans.