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SAN FRANCISCO–Boston Properties and Salesforce introduced their new baby, the 1,070-feet-high Salesforce Tower, to the city of San Francisco April 6 on a drizzly day in the Bay Area.
When it is completed next year, Salesforce Tower will be the company’s new headquarters and feature 61 floors and 1.4 million square feet of office space inside a 1,070-feet-high structure.
Salesforce will occupy 30 floors, and IT integrator Accenture eventually will become the second-largest tenant. Workers are expected to move in sometime in early 2018.
“Today marks a monumental milestone in the construction of Salesforce Tower, as we ‘Top Off’ the tallest office building west of Chicago and redefine the skyline of San Francisco forever,” Salesforce Director of Real Estate Elizabeth Pinkham said in a blog post.
“Topping off” is a traditional ceremony in the construction industry, when the last steel beam is signed by stakeholders and construction crews, and is placed on the top of the building, Pinkham said.
Salesforce Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and a number of other dignitaries were on hand for the topping-off ceremony.
“I am deeply grateful to everyone working on Salesforce Tower as we celebrate this incredible milestone. My hope for this building is that its meaning goes beyond its beautiful glass and steel structure,” Benioff said at the event. “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.
“Salesforce employees don’t just make great products for our customers’ success. We’re also devoted to giving back to the communities where we live and work. This includes improving our local public schools and hospitals, and taking care of those less fortunate than ourselves, especially San Francisco’s homeless population.”
Salesforce was founded in San Francisco 18 years ago and today is the city’s largest technology employer, with more than 6,600 employees in the San Francisco Bay Area and more than 25,000 employees worldwide. The company plans to expand to 30,000 employees worldwide during its current fiscal year.
Benioff said the design of the structure will be replicated in all Salesforce Towers, including those already in operation in New York, London and Indianapolis. Total cost of the project was not released, but it was estimated to be in the neighborhood of $10 billion.
Go here to view a slideshow on the “Topping Off” event on April 6. Video and narration by Chris Preimesberger.