Kaiser Center
| Company type | Office building |
|---|---|
| Industry | Commercial real estate |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Headquarters | Oakland , United States |
| Products | Office and retail space |
| Owner | Pacific Gas and Electric Company (planned acquisition) |
Kaiser Center, also referred to as the Kaiser Building, is a 28-story office skyscraper situated at 300 Lakeside Drive in the heart of downtown Oakland, California. The structure was conceptualized and executed by Welton Becket & Associates, a Los Angeles-based architectural firm. Completed in 1960, it held the distinction of being the tallest building in Oakland and the largest office tower located to the west of the Rocky Mountains. In 1963, a three-level annex combining office and retail spaces was appended to the original structure. Initially, the building functioned as the corporate headquarters for Kaiser Industries, a Fortune 500 conglomerate under the leadership of industrialist Edgar F. Kaiser during its development.
The rooftop garden, crafted by Theodore Osmundson & Associates, represents the United States’ first roof garden established after World War II, drawing inspiration from New York’s Rockefeller Center. Although Henry J. Kaiser did not live there, his son Edgar—who oversaw Kaiser Industries and was a prominent figure in the Bay Area—likely utilized any available residential quarters.
The façade is characterized by glass and aluminum elements, complemented by stone cladding made from coarse-grained dolomite extracted from Kaiser-owned quarries in California.
Presently, the building serves as the headquarters for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), which moved into the premises in 2003 due to seismic safety concerns but announced intentions to vacate in 2021. Additional occupants include the University of California Office of the President, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, The Port Company, California Bank & Trust, and AECOM—a global technical services corporation that relocated there in 2016.
Acquisition by PG&E
During the summer of 2020, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a utility firm based in San Francisco, revealed plans to divest its expensive downtown San Francisco headquarters and relocate its operations to Kaiser Center, which it aims to acquire. PG&E intends to centralize its workforce by moving employees from suburban locations in Concord and San Ramon to Kaiser Center ("300 Lakeside"). A purchase agreement for PG&E’s San Francisco facility was finalized in spring 2021, subject to approval by the California Public Utilities Commission. The transition of headquarters is projected to be completed by 2026. Notably, PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection during 2019–2020 due to financial obligations arising from the 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires.