UC Office of the President’s relocation raises questions

Thursday, March 13, 1997

LAWSUIT:

Administrators insist move will save money, help develop cityBy
Tiffany Lauter

Daily Bruin Contributor

OAKLAND — Concerns raised by the University’s lawsuit against
the construction company hired to build the new Office of the
President headquarters have uncovered idiosyncrasies about the move
itself.

To save money, the UC Office of the President (UCOP) is moving
only 75 percent of its staff to a new office building, while
simultaneously renting part of its present headquarters at the
Kaiser Center Building.

Since the conception of the new office tower nearly two years
ago, which is currently under construction, administrators have
contended that construction of the new site will save the UC system
millions of dollars.

However, not all of the UCOP staff will be making the half-mile
move to the new location at 12th and Franklin in downtown Oakland.
Only 75 percent of the employees will relocate, while the remaining
employees will either stay at their current offices or relocate to
an entirely different building, said UC spokesperson Rick
Malaspina.

"The approximately 25 percent of the employees who will stay
behind are the backshop operations such as computer operators and
programmers, which are difficult to move," Malaspina said.

According to a UCOP press release, the treasurer’s office,
benefits department, student interest groups such as Puente and Mew
Standards, and special research programs will remain at the present
location.

"These are offices which are internal, and do not receive visits
from campuses," Malaspina said. "Only the day-to-day functioning,
the core activities, are moving."

Malaspina also dispelled rumors that the UCOP was scaling down
as the reason for some staff staying behind. He noted that layoffs
only occur during budget reformulation and that this move will have
no effect of that nature.

Nevertheless, some critics are asking why a portion of the staff
is remaining in prime office space that is considerably more
expensive than other buildings in the area, especially if the UCOP
is trying to save money.

According to UC spokesperson Terry Colvin, administrators are in
the process of renegotiating the rental rate for 100,000 square
feet at the Kaiser Center Building. They are also looking for
cheaper space in surrounding buildings.

This separation of UCOP staff has caused some members of the
Board of Regents to question the efficiency of building new office
space that cannot house all personnel.

"Why are we building something when we will not have everything
we need?" asked Student Regent Jess Bravin. "This Taj Mahal does
not even include public meeting rooms."

There are no conference rooms included in the floor plans of the
new offices, but Malaspina said that this will not be a problem. If
needed, he said, the UCOP could rent conference rooms from a nearby
hotel.

He explained that conference rooms were excluded from the
designs of the new building because administrators agreed that
conference rooms would take up too much space, which they felt
could be put to better use.

According to the press release, "better use" means kitchens on
every floor, an 11,000 square-foot roof garden, a five-level
parking structure and provisions for approximately 7,500
square-feet of retail space on the first floor. In response to
employee requests, the new site is also close to freeways, health
club facilities and restaurants.

Administrators have also pointed out that the building will
enhance the redevelopment of an older section of Oakland.

Despite the numerous advantages of the new building that have
been put forth by the administration, parking could be a problem.
Even with an abundance of parking spaces owned by the UCOP in the
new five-tier parking structure, employees will be required to pay
about $120 per month for parking.

According to Malaspina, the parking fees are the result of a UC
administrators agreement to sell 150 spaces in the structure to the
city of Oakland for $3.5 million in exchange for the lower price
that they paid for the land.

UC employees will have the option of renting one of the 150
spaces in the structure. Although the exact monthly price has not
yet been determined, Malaspina estimated that these spaces will
provide the city with approximately $5 million annually in parking
receipts, taxes and other fees.

This parking agreement, combined with the administration’s
assertions that the new building will boost downtown Oakland’s
economy, has left some wondering about the motive behind UCOP’s
move.

"It’s surprising to see the view of urban renewal as a primary
objective (rather than university welfare)," Bravin said.

"(It) may be a by-product of the decision to move there. I wish
I had more confidence in the administration regarding these types
of projects, but they don’t have that type of track record," he
added.

Bravin suggested that the UCOP may have made a hasty, expensive
decision to build without looking at less costly alternatives.

He added that administrators may be attempting to divert public
attention from this million dollar oversight by touting the
economic benefits that the new office building could provide to the
city of Oakland.

But Malaspino maintained that in the long run, the new
facilities will actually be cheaper, especially since the city of
Oakland is eager to develop and is thus more likely to negotiate
attractive terms for UC.

The multi-million dollar building is slated for completion in
April of 1998.