Organized Labor

By Paul Burton, Contributing Writer

The complex will occupy 14 acres in Mission Bay,
next to other new developments.

More union construction jobs will be available in Mission Bay with the recent announcement by the business computing company Salesforce.com that it would build a new campus in the area for its expanding workforce.

In June, the company chose Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction to provide preconstruction services for the project that will include about 2 million square feet of space in eight buildings at a 14-acre site between Third Street and Terry Francois at 16th. As part of the Mission Bay Redevelopment Area, the project is covered by a Project Labor Agreement with the Building Trades. Salesforce paid $278 million for the land.

Salesforce has unveiled its initial designs for the campus, featuring buildings of varying heights with a combination of earth tones and bold colors. Members of the Mission Bay Citizens Advisory Committee expressed support for the design at their meeting June 9 where representatives of Salesforce and their architects made a presentation.

Representatives of the company said they had worked with the Planning Department and Redevelopment Agency for three months and are still seeking input and comments, and would continue to improve the design. They said people had asked for more color in Mission Bay construction, and so they created a scheme that includes a purple-skinned high-rise, a building with a pattern of terra cotta and magenta, and a pink tower that will house wind turbines.

 San Francisco Chronicle urban design critic John King described the design by Legorreta and Legorreta Architects from Mexico City as “eye-popping” and wrote that, “if real life comes close to the vibrant collage depicted in the plan that begins making the public review rounds…that underwhelming redevelopment district may get the jolt it needs.”

A Jolt of Color and Creativity

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said, “The design of the Salesforce.com Mission Bay headquarters captures the innovative spirit of San Francisco and promises to be a bold addition to our skyline. The new headquarters and its vibrant design are proof that San Francisco is the place where the next generation of technology leaders wants to work and live.”

The company hopes to get construction started by June of next year. Kelly Kahn, project manager for the Mission Bay Redevelopment Area, said that RDA and Planning Commission reviews of the designs and plans would take place in August and September.

Salesforce said that its new Mission Bay campus would be the largest private commercial development in the city’s history. The firm currently has 2,500 employees and expects to expand to about 9,000. It is ranked fourth on Forbes magazine’s list of the fastest growing companies in 2010 and said it is committed to staying in San Francisco. Salesforce was founded in 1999 and is a leader in the field of “cloud computing,” which enables businesses and individuals to use online applications and store files and software on Internet servers (the cloud) rather than on their own computer hardware. Salesforce’s expansion also coincides with Apple’s recent launch of its iCloud service that enables users to store and synchronize music and media files on the cloud.

Salesforce.com chairman and CEO Marc Benioff said, “Our new campus will be a place where our employees and the community can connect, collaborate and be inspired by the world around them” and touted the design as “evidence of Salesforce.com’s philosophy of innovation.”

A New Urban Center

The design features space for restaurants and retail, a child care center, new parks and a public plaza. Architect Victor Legorreta told the members of the Mission Bay advisory group that his firm hoped to create “a new urban center for the City in combination with the University [UCSF] and the hospital. The goal with the color is to make a very happy, human, friendly campus that will encourage creativity.”

He said the central plaza would be open and accessible to the public and feature local food purveyors and multicultural restaurants. The plaza would also feature public art and a large- screen TV to show films and sports events to “activate the plaza,” Legorreta said.

The architects also described the sustainable elements of the design and said they would seek to achieve LEED Platinum-level certification for the campus, as defined by the US Green Building Council. In addition to using wind turbines to generate some electricity, the design calls for use of natural light and natural ventilation, water conservation measures and use of sustainable materials. The campus is also located near public transit and the new housing recently built or under construction in Mission Bay.

Hathaway Dinwiddie’s pre-construction work will include preliminary planning of the project, including estimating the costs and schedule for construction and analyzing bids. A general contractor has not yet been chosen.