The structure consists of a 22-story tower constructed in 1923, adjacent to a six-story former furniture showroom built in 1906. For decades, the connected buildings served as the headquarters of the Oakland Tribune newspaper. The tower’s Renaissance Revival style was inspired by the campanile of Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy, and the ornate structure was designated an Oakland Historic Landmark in 1976. The building, clad in terra cotta and brick, offers more than 95,000 square feet of office space. The ground-floor former newsroom has been repurposed as the Tribune Tavern.
We were retained by Harvest Properties in 2017 to perform a condition assessment of the aging Tribune Tower to review the entirety of the exterior façade elements including windows, brick, terra cotta, and roofs. Our assessment included diagnostic water testing of the below-grade, roof, and transition details to identify specific areas of concern. In addition to determining the building’s condition and repair needs, our assessment helped the owner to prioritize repairs and develop repair strategies. Following our initial involvement with the condition assessment, the owner retained our team to provide targeted building enclosure design services. The focus of the design services was to address high priority conditions including several conditions near grade-level, and to confront water intrusion issues above between the domed clock roof and the sloped copper roof above.
A significant challenge in assessing the condition of the building façade was gaining physical access to the upper stories of the tower. We enlisted members of our rope access team to apply their skills to this considerable task. Due to our rope team’s meticulous and close-in work on the tower, we were able to provide a detailed assessment of the upper façade.
As part of the overall retrofit, the historic building underwent a seismic retrofit and significant interior upgrade. We assisted with building enclosure repair work to address widespread signs of deterioration, including water intrusion in the basement and at the clock tower. Our responsibility also extended to helping the owner develop building enclosure strategies based on the required structural retrofits, and we provided building enclosure drawings and specifications to resolve the water intrusion issues. Our team also provided construction administrative support and conducted field reviews during the construction stage to ensure the work conformed to the project documents.
Renovations to the Tribune Tower were completed in 2018, and the iconic building is poised to continue serving the downtown Oakland community for many years to come.
