Company forms, skyscrapers progress in L.A., San Francisco and Oakland.

Luxury Residential Skyscraper Completed in San Francisco

The Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has completed its 56-story glass tower in San Francisco’s Transbay District, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) reports. The building, called The Avery, includes condominium residences and apartment rentals as well as a 4,312-ft2 penthouse on the 56th floor. At 576 ft tall, it is OMA’s first high-rise building in San Francisco and sits on top of two podium buildings designed by Fougeron Architecture. In addition to the residences, The Avery also features 30,000 ft2 of amenities that include an Equinox-curated fitness center, a 60-ft indoor lap pool, a demonstration kitchen, a formal dining room, a media lounge, a game room, a business center, an outdoor terrace, a pet spa and 24-h valet parking.

Oakland’s Tallest Office Tower to be Larger Than Salesforce

Plans were unveiled in June for the 28-story Kaiser Permanente Thrive Center, which, at 1.6 million ft2, will be larger than San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower and the tallest office tower in Oakland, California, ABC7 News was among outlets to report. To include community space, parking and health-care clinics, the tower at 2100 Telegraph Avenue downtown will serve as headquarters for Oakland-based healthcare company Kaiser Permanente. During a ceremony attended by Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, it was observed Kaiser received no tax incentives for the tower, which Schaaf said promises to be community asset. Completion is anticipated in 2023.

New Business to Service Elevators in Major Markets

CIVC Partners has launched a company that will independently provide elevator maintenance, repair and modernization services in the three main metropolitan areas in California, PE Hub reports. Specialized Elevator Services Holdings (SESH) was formed by recapitalizing San Francisco Elevator, Ascent Elevator and Specialized Elevator and will serve the San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego markets. Donovan McKeever from San Francisco Elevator will serve as president of SESH, and Greg Goulette, former CEO of a CIVC company, will be the executive chairman. Robert Williams has been recruited to serve as CEO of the new company. “This is a unique opportunity to bring together leading independent elevator service providers and create one of the largest platforms in the country,” CIVC partner J.D. Wright said.

L.A. City Council Agrees to Move Forward With High Rise

Vancouver-based Omni Group has been given the green light to move forward with its latest high-rise building in Downtown Los Angeles. The site, located at 1000 South Hill Street, had been subject to labor opposition, but the L.A. City Council ruled in favor of the developer, Commercial Observer reports. The 60-story building will be designed by Chris Dikeakos Architects and will include 700 apartments and 1,075 parking spaces. The ground floor will also house 15,000 ft2 of commercial space available for rent. The project is set to be completed by 2022.