Constructed in 1924 in the beaux arts style, with a streamline moderne refresh of the storefronts and canopy in the 1930’s, Desmond’s was a high-end department store with some unique features, such as an ornate two-story atrium on the ground floor, and a skylight on the 6th floor. HCM 1207.

The program consisted of a core-and-shell retail space on the 1st and basement floors, a co-working office TI on floors 2-6, the addition of a two-stories of core-and-shell restaurant and bar, and a seismic retrofit. The project was completed Sept ’21.

Firm: Omgivning | TI design: Bond Collective | Role: Project Lead, taking over the project at the start of construction. Developing and incorporating the TI design and a redesign of the addition into the set; shepherding the changes through plan check and the CDO process. CA.

Changes During Construction

After the permit was obtained, co-working company Bond Collective was secured as tenant for floors 2-6. To obtain more light for their space, new openings on the south face of the building were proposed. This required relocating the elevators to the opposite side of the building, via a supplemental.

The TI was rolled into the building permit via a supplemental, and built concurrently. The C&S design was revised to suit the tenant. Bond’s in-house team provided design direction via a DD set. Omgivning was the executive architect. 

The relocation of the elevators provided new and better options for the rooftop addition, which was completely redesigned, reengineered, and permitted, also during construction.

Finally, the storefronts were redesigned to suit the retail tenant, which required amendments to the CDO.