Ceremony held for grand opening of San Francisco's Salesforce Tower

Wayne Freedman Image
ByWayne Freedman KGO logo
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Ceremony held for grand opening of San Francisco's Salesforce Tower
CEO Marc Benioff and San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell were among the dignitaries at the opening celebration for the Salesforce skyscraper that has changed the face of the city's skyline.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A grand opening celebration was held for the Salesforce skyscraper that has changed the face of San Francisco's skyline.

Tuesday's opening of the Salesforce Tower had elements of a religious experience. CEO Mark Benioff spent $560 million to lease much of the building and put his company's name on it for the next 15 years.

Salesforce announced that the company will donate $1.5 million to Hamilton Families' Heading Home Initiative to end long-term family homelessness in San Francisco.

This gift will be matched by Marc and Lynne Benioff for a total of $3 million. These donations to one of the city's most urgent causes were made as part of the grand opening celebration of the Salesforce Tower. "This tower on the 61st floor allows us to see one community. We are all one San Francisco and we have obligations to each other and especially the less fortunate among us, today," Benioff said.

RELATED: Marc Benioff announces donation to help end family homelessness in San Francisco

As a work space, it still looks like an office inside, complete with cultural walls and floors of like-minded people arranged as villages.

One employee named Sunja Ojure loves the new digs, which include free food and a mindfulness zone for employee meditation.

RELATED: Salesforce Tower becomes tallest building in San Francisco after final beam placed

The last steel beam was placed on the Salesforce Tower today, making it the tallest occupiable building west of Chicago.

The building stands 1, 070 feet tall and has 60 stories of office space.

Employees are already hard at work inside, with people who started moving in back in January.

Click here to read more about the donation to help end the homeless situation in the city.

And click here for more videos and stories about Salesforce.

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