Located at the easterly terminus of Capitol Park, the project is a multi-block, mixed-use office development that consolidates three major departments of state government.

About 6,400 employees in the departments of health services, education and general services will be housed in a five-building, 1.5 million-sq.-ft. development that includes 1,500 parking spaces. Public amenities include retail shops and services, a community police station, 300-seat auditorium and child-care center with outdoor play area. The project’s features respond to energy efficiency and green building standards established in Assembly Bill 2432.

Sited directly on axis with the historic, gold-domed Capitol within the existing city street grid, the project reinforces the intent of the original city plan. By extending Capitol Park deep into the complex as a core amenity, the design defers to the civic preeminence of the park, increases public open space and reinforces the relationship between the park and a diverse neighborhood.

Although embodying the dignity of state government, the design avoided a monumentality that would have competed with the Capitol. Highly articulated building forms scale downward toward the surrounding low-rise commercial and residential neighborhood, responding to the master plan and urban design framework established for the area

Quotable:

“It makes use of abundant natural lighting and even allows employees to control their own environment by adjusting a unique under-floor air distribution system.”

Mike Meredith, project director,
California Department of General Services