Sacramento -- With Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris looking on, the California Department of General Services (DGS) and the Oakland State Building Authority today dedicated the 22-story Elihu M. Harris State Building located at 1515 Clay Street in downtown Oakland.

 

     The ceremony marked the culmination of seven years of planning and construction of the building that replaces the Oakland State Office Building at 1111 Jackson Street, condemned after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Approximately 2,100 employees from more than 25 state departments and agencies now scattered among 35 locations around the East Bay will be consolidated into the building's 565,000 square- feet of working space.

 

     "This consolidation will save taxpayers more than $220 million over the next 30 years," said DGS Director Peter Stamison. "This fine enhancement to the beautiful Oakland skyline will pay for itself."

 

     FDCC California, Inc./Dinwiddie Construction Company of San Francisco served as the design build team leader. DMJM Keating of Los Angeles worked as the project's lead architects.

 

     State and Consumer Services Agency Secretary Joanne Corday Kozberg praised the work of Dinwiddie and Keating, adding that the project was delivered, "on time and on budget."

 

     The 325 feet high, $130 million project includes an exterior of granite, pre-cast concrete panels and pewter glass. The building contains street-level retail, a soaring four-story atrium with an arched translucent roof, a 280-person auditorium, and a cafeteria. Employees will begin occupying the Harris building during the summer of 1998.