Developer Peter Wang is planning a 63-story skyscraper in downtown Oakland that could become the tallest building in the Bay Area.

Originally proposed as the home of the University of California"s systemwide offices, the project has morphed into a more ambitious form, with extra floors, a hotel and enough leasable commercial space to make it the largest single collection of private offices in the city under one roof.

Wang"s Encinal Terminals Inc. hired the prominent national architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, the same firm that designed a striking, glass-sheathed design for the university. The city has begun the environmental review process after Wang conducted initial studies on shadowing and other issues.

The project is by far the most ambitious undertaking yet for Oakland-based Encinal. The company owns the Encinal Terminal in Alameda, a dock once kept busy by food packers and the Navy but now a sleepy warehousing district that has been targeted for redevelopment.

Wang has had success diversifying into commercial real estate. His firm leases two buildings to the University of California in Berkeley and Oakland, although both measure only in the tens of thousands of square feet. He also has a 50-unit condominium project in downtown Oakland with 104 units in the works. Wang also has approved plans for an office tower of approximately 12 stories at 1111 Jackson St. in downtown Oakland.

Uncertainties remain

That track record hardly makes Wang a real estate tycoon, and much remains unknown about his Oakland project.

Wang emphasized the uncertainties around his proposal, such as what will go inside the tower, whether tenants will come forward, and how Wang is going to pay for the whole thing. To hedge his bets, he has submitted three designs to the city of varying sizes and configurations.

The preliminary plans range in height from 44 stories rising 608 feet to 63 stories rising 827 feet. The tallest design submitted is still 26 feet shorter than San Francisco"s tallest, the Transamerica Pyramid, but Wang said the final design from Skidmore could go beyond that height. Also, Transamerica has just 48 floors.

Wang"s tallest design would hold nearly 1.1 million square feet of office space.

Wang also does not know whether his project will hold condos, a hotel or offices, but his plans all include a mixture of at least two of those uses, plus retail. He said he will not build without an anchor office tenant or lots of pre-sold condominiums, or perhaps an investment from a hotel company.

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