Salesforce To Anchor 61-Story Transbay Tower In San Francisco; Tallest West Coast Building

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- A high-rise building under construction in San Francisco will be named for Salesforce.com and is expected to be the tallest building on the West Coast according to company officials who made an announcement Friday.

The business software maker specializing in cloud computing will occupy more than half or 714,000 square feet, of the 61-story building's office space. Company and city officials announced the roughly $560 million, 15-year lease deal.

A model of Salesforce Tower being built above the new Transbay Transit Center downtown was unveiled proudly by chief legal officer of Salesforce, Burk Norton. Officials said the building would be completed by 2017.

"A 61-story tower to be built right outside this window will fundamentally transform the beautiful skyline of San Francisco," Norton said.

Part of the announcement also included plans for the company to hire 1,000 employees in San Francisco over the next year.

The tech company's chairman, Mark Benioff, is a well known philanthropist and employees volunteer in the community. Mayor Ed Lee called the company, "one with a good corporate soul," for their initiatives to "help the less fortunate" by allowing them in their schools and training centers because they want better jobs.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who was also on hand for the expansion announcement, reflected on the changing times.

"When my husband Paul was growing up in San Francisco, there was a law that said no building should be higher than the Ferry Building. Think of that as you look down on the Ferry Building," she said.

Salesforce Tower will stand at 1,070 feet tall when it's finished.