Cloud Computing Company Will Have its Name in the Clouds above San Francisco

It is only fitting that Salesforce, whose logo is a cloud, won the naming rights to what will be the West Coast's tallest building when completed in 2017 where they will lease half the space. When the fog rolls in, that's all the workers will see!

2 minute read

April 14, 2014, 6:00 AM PDT

By Irvin Dawid


Salesforce, whose logo as well as business is cloud-related, is San Francisco's largest technology employer. In a "landmark real estate deal, it will lease half of the planned Transbay Tower, now to become the Salesforce Tower thanks to a naming rights agreement - when the 61-story skyscraper is completed in 2017," write Ellen Huet and John Coté.

In 2010, two years before the city approved plans for the tower, "then-Mayor Gavin Newsom was already envisioning Salesforce as an anchor tenant - waxing poetic about the company's logo perched atop the highest building in the city", add Huet and Coté.

In fact, as we noted in 2012 when the tower was approved, the 1,070-foot tower will also be the tallest on the West Coast, surpassing the U.S. Bank Tower at 1,018 feet by 52 feet. However, the ranking may not last long, if at all, as L.A.'s 71-story Wilshire Grand Tower at 1,121 feet, is also expected to be completed in 2017.

The centerpiece of the Transbay Transit Center will hopefully be the new $4.5 billion Transbay Terminal (renamed the Transit Center), what some have dubbed "America's Next Great Train Station". However, when the center is completed by 2017, it will not have the two rail tenants, Caltrain and High Speed Rail. But if you need to catch a bus to the East Bay, North Bay, Peninsula or the Greyhound, your needs will be met.

Friday, April 11, 2014 in San Francisco Chronicle

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Passengers board an Amtrak train under a cloudy sky.

Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement

The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.

September 18, 2026 - Mass Transit

An Airo train driving towards the camera on a track. There is a forest behind it.

Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet

Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.

September 22, 2026 - Washington State Standard

The Gross Reservoir, a large body of water surrounded by trees and mountains.

Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion

Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.

September 18, 2026 - Inside Climate News

A rendering of the proposed building, which is tall and highlighted in yellow to stand out from the surrounding buildings.

NYC to turn city-owned property into thousands of homes

The city has scheduled a public hearing regarding the development for October.

September 29 - Gothamist

The new busway. The pavement is painted red, indicating it as a bus-only lane.

Buses travel at 5mph along this route in NYC. The Bronx's first-ever busway looks to change that

Prior to the busway, buses on the Bx36 route traveled as slowly as 5 miles per hour.

September 29 - Mass Transit

People cross the street in downtown Pittsburg.

Pittsburg launches 'EZ permits,' aims for one-day turnaround for low-risk permits

The pilot ‘fast lane’ for permits is part of a bundle of modernization efforts for Pittsburg’s permitting process.

September 29 - Smart Cities Dive

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design