An informational meeting on the new office building for UCOP was held in the Kaiser Building auditorium on May 14th. Initial comments were made by Stuart Lynn, Associate Vice President, Information Resources and Communication, followed by a discussion of the new building by Jim Dolgonas, Deputy to the Associate Vice President, IR&C and Director of Information Systems and Computing.
After reviewing the various options resulting from the Request for Proposal process last year, it was determined that it would be more cost effective to purchase our own building than to continue to lease. We have a very tight schedule. We are in the midst of complex negotiations with the Developer. We want to hear your comments and will take them into consideration as much as possible. The new building project manager is Jim Dolgonas.
In addition to the comments I'll make there will be a question and answer period at the end of this session. Additionally, comments can be submitted to an e-mail account: building@ucop.edu Because of the volume we may not be able to respond to all comments received, but all will be read and considered. At their March meeting, the Regents approved the proposal to purchase a new office building from a developer after construction is complete about two years from now. The new building will be located on Franklin Street between 11th Street and 12th Street. The building will have 5 levels of parking (one below ground), 1-1/2 floors of which will be owned by the City of Oakland, and eight floors of offices to be built on top of the parking structure. In addition, there will be approximately 7,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Part of the top of the parking structure will be landscaped for use as a roof garden.
There will be a walk-way running the partial block from the Broadway and 12th Street Bart station to the Broadway entrance of our building. We will have over 300 parking spaces available at a competitive price in our building, as well as more spaces within a two block radius in City owned lots at reduced rates. At the lot about two blocks away, current rates would be between $50.00 and $55.00 per month. In addition, the bus service on Broadway is excellent.
Map of the Surrounding Area (29.8K)
Fitness Facilities: There are a variety of facilities nearby:
Restaurants/Cafe's:
There are 45 within a 3 block radius of our building and we would like to have one restaurant occupy some of our own retail space.
Banking Facilities in City Center (which is about two blocks away):
Bookstores:
Childcare:
At present there are 5 childcare facilities within a 5 block area.
What will the new building be like?
Site Map of the block (84.7K)
The exterior is made of concrete with architectural details that mirror some aspects of the adjacent Key System Building on Broadway and 11th Street. The lobby goes through the building with an entrance on Franklin Street and an entrance facing Broadway. Initial thinking is for there to be display cases in the lobby with rotating information/exhibits. There will be one bank of elevators going to all 8 floors of offices. We hope to be able to use the stairwells to go from floor to floor as well, but this will depend on the security system and life safety requirements of the building. The building heating and air conditioning system(HVAC) will be of high quality and all aspects of it are of great importance to us.
Security:
The security system for our new building has very high priority. We have hired a consultant to design /advise us on our security system. We will likely have the lobby be the point of control for both staff and visitors. Staff would carry some kind of badge in their wallet, purse or pocket which would let them pass through to the elevators without a buzzer going off, but visitors would need to sign in. This is just in the formative stages and several options are being considered. In addition, there will be cameras in the lobby, entrances, and exits, and the garage.
Building Interior:
We will be taking the furniture in all offices and conference rooms with us as well as the task chairs and guest chairs in our cubicles. We will be purchasing all new panel furniture for our cubicles. The new panel furniture is better than what we presently have. There will be some changes in office /cubicle/conference room sizes, the details of which will be decided after we get the staff programming done. However, the sizes of fixed wall offices will be reduced.
Occupants of the new building:
A decision has been made not to move the computer center to the new building.
Schedule:
Departmental representatives have been appointed to advise on interior space planning and represent departmental needs. In two weeks the Departmental Representatives will meet to begin the space planning/programming process. Space planning will end by January 1997. Excavation will begin October 1996 and the building is scheduled for completion on April 30th 1998.
Q. How do the number of parking spaces in the new building compare
with the number we have here?
A. We have more spaces available in the new building, and we are
hoping at a lesser cost to staff, than we have ever rented at
Kaiser.
Q. Have we spoken to the Oakland Police Department about providing
more security in the evening for the staff who park off site?
A. No, not yet, but this is a good idea.
Q. Which other departments are not moving to the new building?
A. This has not been decided.
Q. Will those of us who are located on floors that had different
lease start dates be moving when other floors move?
A. All leases are co-terminus with the master lease which ends
in April 1998.
Q. Has thought been given to providing staff a relocation allowance?
A. No.
Q. What if the building is not ready when our lease is up?
A. We would probably use the holdover clause in our current lease.
Q. Could a branch of the University Bookstore, for example, occupy
part of the retail space?
A. Yes.
Q. Will our security guards be part of a contracted service or
be UCOP employees?
A. This has not been decided yet.
Q. Will the new building be earthquake safe?
A. The new building will be built in compliance with all current
seismic codes and the University's seismic policy which requires a "good"
seismic rating for all new buildings.
Q. Will there be an area where employees can gather to have lunch?
A. The roof garden will be used for this in good weather and we
are looking at the possibility of additional space in the building
as well.
Q. Will there be secured parking for bikes?
A .Yes, probably, at modest cost.
Q. Will there be kitchen/coffee areas on each floor similar to
what we have here.
A. Yes.
Q. Will the windows open?
A. No, because the energy costs associated with heating and cooling
a building with windows that open are too high, and we probably
could not comply with State codes.
Q. Will there be a covered area outside for smokers?
A. It is not in the plan at this time.
Q. Will the building be sprinklered?
A. Yes.
Q. Will there be conference rooms on each floor?
A. Yes, but not always the same size on each floor. The exact
number of conference rooms hasn't been decided yet.
Q. Is the 12th floor Teleconference Room moving to the new building?
A. This hasn't really been decided yet, but it will probably move.
Q. Will there be an auditorium in the new building?
A. No.The Marriott Hotel has spaces available for large meetings.
Q. Could the University negotiate a general agreement with the
Marriott on rates to charge for UCOP meetings held in their hotel?
A. Yes, an excellent idea.
Q. Will there be separate reception areas on every floor?
A. Not planned for at this time since there will be a common reception/security
area in the building lobby.
Q. Where will staff be located who do not go into the new building?
A. This has not yet been decided.
Q. Will the building maintenance staff be UCOP employees or contractors?
A. No decision has been make on this yet.
Q. Will there be direct access from the parking structure into
the building?
A. Yes.
Q. Why was the decision made to build a building which was not
big enough for all of UCOP staff?
A. A long term perspective is necessary when buying a building.
There was a desire to maintain flexibility in case some units
currently at UCOP later became associated with a campus or campuses.
