Kaiser Permanente to build new skyscraper in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The CEO of Kaiser Permanente announced Monday the company will be constructing new headquarters in Oakland and will call it The Kaiser Permanente Thrive Center.

He says they did look elsewhere but decided this is where they want to construct the 28-story building.

"At the end of the day, we can think of no better place than Oakland, California and so we're here," said CEO Bernard Tyson.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf was on hand for the big announcement and says this is great news for the city.

"I could not be more delighted to announce that Kaiser Permanente is going to be the owner and landlord for Oakland's biggest office building, a beautiful visionary edifice with beautiful design, thoughtful programming," said Mayor Libby Schaaf.

She pointed out that pointed out that the building - while it won't be taller - will be larger than San Francisco's Salesforce Tower- with 1.6 million square-feet of space.

"There's going to be community space, health education, clinics... it really is going to be a community asset, not just another office building," Schaff said.

The new building's address will be 2100 Telegraph Avenue. The restaurant Giant Burgers and a city-owned parking garage now sit at the location.

"There will be some inconvenience, particularly for patrons of the Paramount that depend on that parking garage to park in," said Schaaf, who went on to say, "The new building will have replacement parking in it. We also want to encourage more people to use public transit to get to downtown."

She did not offer any deals to convince Kaiser to stay.

"I have been adamant about not giving tax breaks, even to a wonderful organization like Kaiser Permanente. They are playing their full freight," said the mayor.

The new building is expected to be complete in 2023.