

This morning Salesforce Tower had its ceremonial topping off, which included a press conference with the mayor, several supervisors, the developer, and CEO Marc Benioff, and the hoisting of the "final" steel beam  signed by the construction crew and whoever else wanted to  up to the top story. Local media was given their first opportunity to ride to the top floor on a hardhat tour, and yes, the views do not suck.

At 1,070 feet, the building is still being touted as the tallest office building west of Chicago  which is true, however the title of tallest building west of Chicago now belongs to Los Angeles' Wilshire Grand, which kind of cheated for the title with a spire that brings its height to 1,099 feet.

Benioff announced today that the 61st floor of the building, the highest glass-walled floor of the structure beneath the translucent screened "cap," will not in fact be his personal office suite, but will instead be a gathering space they're calling the Ohana Floor  Benioff is fond of Hawaiian culture, and the word "ohana," which means family, is used at the company to represent the "family" of employees. During the day, the floor will be used as conference and event space for Salesforce employees and customers, and at night and presumably some weekends, the space will be opened up for use by community partners, non-profits, and others, free of charge.

“I am deeply grateful to everyone working on Salesforce Tower as we celebrate this incredible milestone," said Benioff. "My hope for this building is that its meaning goes beyond its beautiful glass and steel structure. May the meaning of Salesforce Tower be the people within it who are deeply committed to making this city a better place for all of its citizens."

Supervisor Jane Kim, in whose district the tower has been rising over the last several years, says that back when she took office in 2011 all she heard from other developers about the project was "it's too big," and she joked, "It was the only time ever that you had developers saying something should be smaller." But after securing Salesforce as an anchor tenant in 2014  the company will be occupying the bottom 30 floors (3 through 30) along with floors 60 and 61  the project was on much more solid financial footing.

Architect Fred Clarke, senior principal of Pelli Clarke Pelli who are also responsible for the Transbay Terminal next door, spoke at the news conference declaring that "Building tall buildings is fundamentally an aspirational act, and an act of optimism," and that this tower that will now dominate the San Francisco skyline for many years to come should be seen as a gesture of faith in the future of the city's economy.

And as they started doing last summer, developer Boston Properties and their partner Hines had reps throwing some shade in the direction of nearby Millennium Tower and its sinking problem, proclaiming "Bedrock, baby," and repeatedly boasting about Salesforce Tower's foundation reaching 300 feet down to solid bedrock.

Glass glazing panels have already reached part of the top floor, but the site remains abuzz with some 700 workers in the building trades. The building is expected to be completed later this year, with the first Salesforce employees moving in by late 2017 or early 2018.

Other major tenants now include Bain & Co., Accenture, and CB Richard Ellis, who is also the building's leasing agent.



Previously: Salesforce Tower Throws Shade At Millennium Tower