Crews top off San Francisco's $1B Salesforce Tower — the tallest building west of Chicago

Dive Brief:

San Francisco officials were on hand Thursday to celebrate the structural completion, or topping off, of the 1,070-foot-tall, $1.1. billion Salesforce Tower, according to Business Insider.
The 61-story, 1.4-million-square-foot building will include direct access to the new Transbay Transit Center, 13-foot-high ceilings, 10-foot glass panels, metal sun shades at each floor to help regulate the building's temperature and lighting, and fifth-floor retail space. Salesforce has leased the bottom 30 and top two floors in its namesake building from developers Boston Properties and Hines. So far, 70% of the skyscraper has been leased.
Clark Construction is managing the project, which is the tallest tower west of Chicago and the most expensive building in San Francisco.

Dive Insight:

Construction on the tower soared past the city's Transamerica Pyramid building in October, and crews are racing to ensure that the high-rise is ready for its estimated completion date later this year.

Salesforce Tower is aiming for LEED Platinum certification, with its sustainable features including high-efficiency air handlers that allow for increased natural ventilation, under-floor air distribution, high-performance "low E" glass and a water recycling system that will decrease water consumption by as much as 30% inside the building and by 50% in landscaping applications.

An architect on the project told Business Insider that the Salesforce Tower was "firmly and safely socketed into earth's bedrock," which was no doubt a reference to the nearby Millennium Tower. The 58-story building's homeowners' association is suing developer Millennium Partners, as well as the Transbay Transit Center, due to settling that has left the building sinking more than expected.

In addition to this and another legal action initiated by condominium owners, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a civil suit against developers, alleging that they knew about the building's structural issues but did not inform buyers. Thus far, the tower has settled 16 inches and tilts 2 inches from it base. Experts predict that it could settle another 16 inches. Some officials claim the building's design did not allow for foundation piles to reach the bedrock below.