New high-rise state office building coming to downtown Sacramento

The state has picked a builder to construct an 11-story office building a block south of Capitol Park.

The Department of General Services picked Rudolph and Sletten to build the project at 1215 O Street. The Redwood City firm is partnering with ZGF Architects of Portland.

Demolition of an existing vacant state building is expected to begin in the summer, with the new project finished by 2021, the Department of General Services said in a press release.

The new building will provide space for about 1,150 employees from the California Health and Human Services Agency, the Department of State Hospitals, and the Department of Developmental Services.

Sacramento Councilman Steve Hansen, who represents the area, said the project marks a return to state investment in the city’s core, after a pattern of locating office space in the suburbs.

The state has agreed to work with the city on the planning of the project, even though it is exempt from the city’s planning regulations, Hansen said.

The state is also planning a 20-floor high rise a few blocks west of the O Street project. That office building is expected to go in the corner of O and Seventh streets.

State officials are also considering a third downtown project – renovating or replacing the Capitol Annex, which houses the offices of the governor and the lieutenant governor, among others.

This story was originally published December 4, 2017 at 3:23 PM with the headline "New high-rise state office building coming to downtown Sacramento."