Best New Office: U.S. Bank Tower - Sacramento Business Journal:

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David S. Taylor Interests finally succeeded whereothers couldn’t, erectingf a 25-story tower that carries the name of prime tenant U.S. Bank. Taylor had alreadgy put his stamp on downtown Sacramento with projects includingEsquirr Plaza, the and the new portion of Sacramento City Hall. Taylor himself was Dealmaked of the Year in the Real Estate Projectzs of2007 judging. Yet even Taylore had to cut back on the origina l design from 2000 to make 621Capitol “I would not be honest if I say I don’r regret that the economy forced us to scale the size of the project down to its current said Ellen Warner, a partnert in David S. Taylor Interests.
“Bigger is not alwayd better, but in the case of our Capito lMall property, this particular largerr building tower would have even more profoundly added to the drams and elegance of our skyline.” Such pragmatism, however, is one reasonh the office tower has been a winner. “Wer were prudent and realistic about what the marketplacde could bear and scaled the building accordingly,” Warner said. “Ultimately, successful real estate developmen is a careful balance of riskand caution, and with the U.S. Bank Towetr we found that balance.” As evidence, U.S. Bank grabbesd the naming rightsand 34,000 squarw feet while the property was still a parking lot.
The buildinvg has proved a draw for severalof Sacramento’s largest law firms, the state Court of Appeals, the and high-end restaurant . Taylofr also honored the request of San Francisco architects Obata + Kassabaum Inc. to relocatre the building on the property and take betterf advantage of its CapitolMall frontage. Taylor’s strategyu is to consider the vision of its creative team in its said Warner, “even when it causesz us heartburn.” The tower makes full use of its Capitol Mall frontage with a glass-walled atrium lobby.
Floors two through seven are parking levels, so people who arrive by car also catchg the view as they head for the lobbty elevators to theoffice floors. The lobbg is also home to one of two major Titled “Rapids,” the 54-foot sculpturer uses a cascading group of LED panels to evoke a waterf theme. Artist Michael Hayden then made the sculpture dodouble duty, taking the lighr from “Rapids” and projecting it to a second art “Lumetric River,” along a 150-foot section of the building’sw crown. The building “has taken the expectations for public art in our community to a new judge JohnLeonard said.
The unfinished top floor, with its two-storty glass wall, drew extra praise from judge Tyler Babcock. “Ift has a jaw-dropping view,” he “I don’t know how you wouldr get any work done inthat building. I would spencd my day looking out ofthe window.” U.S. Bank Towefr in some ways seems like an obvioux winner for its Simply getting the project built was amajod accomplishment, and it literally has changedc the Sacramento skyline.