Pinnacle RED Group announced today submittal of plans to the City of Oakland for a high-rise mixed-use building, 1261 Harrison, with a dual-tower look in a single structure. At 440 feet to the roof-deck (460 when adding the architectural screening element) and 36 stories in height, it would be Oakland’s tallest building. The striking, gently curved structure will be half residential and half commercial space, offering 185 units of market-rate and affordable housing, 120,000 square feet of Class A office space, and 12,000 square feet of commercial/retail space including an innovative ‘locavore’ market hall with regionally-sourced food and maker entrepreneurs. 1261 Harrison is one of Oakland’s only mixed-use vertical communities to include commercial space as well as market-rate housing and affordable housing onsite.

“1261 Harrison Street will be a transformational live/work/shop/play mixed-use property in the fast-changing Downtown-City Center area,” said Fred Daven, senior vice president for Pinnacle RED.  “This transit-oriented development just two blocks from BART will bring economic vitality to complement existing Chinatown and nearby businesses, and includes a pedestrian-friendly streetscape and community spaces for daytime and evening enjoyment.”

“We strove for a distinctive design by breaking up the building’s mass so that it appears as two towers, but is really one structure,” said Mark Donahue of Lowney Architecture. “Honoring and enhancing the neighborhood context was very important to the development team, which can be seen in the slender, recessed curves that prevent the tower from looming over the street or adjacent structures, the color scheme drawn from the local cityscape, and in the height and scale of street-level elements that match the façades of nearby, character-rich buildings.”

The building’s vertical mixed-use community is expected to be an attraction to building occupants and a benefit to the surrounding neighborhood.

“We want 1261 Harrison to be a thriving, enjoyable place to be, with all the elements of urban life and commerce that people like about cities and downtowns,” said Ronnie Turner, a development manager for Pinnacle RED.  “It all comes together at the ground level.  The public market will have a mix of retailers, including some we expect from within downtown, drawing people in from 13th Street and flowing through the building to a unique pedestrian alleyway for relaxing, dining or events.  The team has also designed extensive sidewalk and streetscape improvements to enhance walkability, accommodate bikes and add connectivity to Chinatown, Broadway and Lake Merritt.”

Through a density bonus program that adds height to accommodate below-market-rate housing, 1261 Harrison will achieve an onsite mix of an economically diverse community. A single, grand concourse-style lobby brings visitors to both the office and residential elevators, as well as access to an innovative automated underground parking garage.

The developers plan to engage local artists via public and private commissions, including for the key 13th and Harrison corner to reflect 1261 Harrison’s positioning at “the Gateway to Chinatown”.

Upon completion, 1261 Harrison is estimated to bring over 400 office workers downtown, nearly 100 onsite retail and property management personnel, some 360 new residents in the condominiums, and hundreds of daily shoppers to its retail and public spaces. The two-year construction effort will generate approximately 600-700 jobs as well.