Press Releases: National
August 6, 2009
Kaiser Permanente Renews Commitment to Downtown Oakland
National headquarters for the city’s largest employer to remain near Lake Merritt
OAKLAND, Calif. — Kaiser Permanente today announced that its corporate headquarters will remain in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente is the city’s largest private employer and today’s announcement affirms that the organization’s national headquarters will remain in the Ordway Building near Lake Merritt.
“We deeply appreciate our long history with the City of Oakland and surrounding residential communities. Kaiser Permanente and our antecedent Kaiser-industry related companies have long been a pillar of the Oakland business community,” said George C. Halvorson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente. “Oakland has always been an integral part of our identity and history; with this major commitment to our headquarters office location, we are clearly reinforcing and extending our commitment to the city. It remains an important part of our future.”
The company signed a nine-year lease agreement to keep its headquarters in the Ordway Building, where they have been housed since 1970 — the year the building was completed. The Ordway Building is named for A. B. “Ord” Ordway and was built for Kaiser Industries. Hired in 1912, Ordway was the longest tenured employee in the history of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser’s global empire and the man who brought Dr. Sidney R. Garfield into the Kaiser family to co-found Kaiser Permanente with Mr. Kaiser.
The building is sheathed in Kaiser aluminum and is the tallest building in the East Bay.
Demonstrating a commitment to lowering its operating costs and acting as a good steward of its members’ premium dollars, Kaiser Permanente negotiated favorable rates for the 336,321 square feet it currently leases on 21 floors of the 28-story building.
Kaiser Permanente occupies seven buildings in the downtown area and is in the process of expanding its care delivery operations in the city. In May, the organization opened a new Medical Office Building and Cancer Care Center. Additionally, construction for the Oakland Medical Center recently began at the corner of Broadway and West MacArthur Boulevard. The new hospital is scheduled to open 2013.
“This lease agreement is a testament to the appeal and value of downtown Oakland to employers,” said Jeff Kreshek, principal, CIM Group, which owns and manages the building. “It also is a significant transaction in a challenging economic environment, and one that retains a key employer in the East Bay.”
In the lease negotiations, Kaiser Permanente was represented by Jones Lang LaSalle and CIM Group was represented by Brandywine and Colliers Parrish.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
