Following Salesforce's lead, the healthcare giant will relocate to a high-rise urban headquarters, transitioning out of seven locations it currently occupies in the East Bay.

Kaiser Permanente's planned new headquarters will encompass 1.6 million square feet of floor space, making it "one of the largest new buildings in the Bay Area — larger in space, though not height, than San Francisco's Salesforce Tower," Roland Li writes.
The healthcare corporation, already Oakland's largest employer, will consolidate over 7,000 employees from seven locations into the new 29-story tower, which is set to open in 2023. Occupying a site currently graced with "a parking garage and vacant lots," the new headquarters will be dubbed the Kaiser Permanente Thrive Center and cost a total of $900 million, saving the firm $60 million a year compared with its current set-up.
Kaiser's move makes it one of the latest major firms to set up shop downtown, moving away from the suburban office park mode. "The building is comparable in size to the huge suburban buildings occupied by tech giants Facebook and Google in Silicon Valley," Li writes.
FULL STORY: Kaiser Permanente to build giant, new $900 million Oakland headquarters

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie