First Workshop Draws 90 Community Members
Approximately 90 community members participated in the first Public Workshop for the West End Office Complex Project Wednesday, January 26, 2005. Hosted by the State of California , Department of General Services, attendees had the opportunity to learn more about the state office consolidation project by viewing project displays, speaking one-on-one with project team members, and listening to a formal presentation. With a project understanding, community members shared goals, issues, and ideas in small workgroups, reporting back to the larger gathering at the end of the evening. Two additional workshops are scheduled for April 6, 2005 and June 15, 2005.

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Second West End Office Complex Workshop Helps Shape Alternatives
The State of California Department of General Services (DGS) held the second of three evening public workshops for the West End Office Complex Project on April 6 with approximately 70 community members, stakeholders, elected officials, and local media representatives in attendance. The workshop provided an opportunity for attendees to review eight conceptual design alternatives for the office complex and three parking structure alternatives. The workshop combined an open house format with a formal project presentation and interactive breakout sessions. Participants were encouraged to submit detailed written comments conveying specific preferences, issues, or concerns.

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Community Involvement and the Planning Process Continues at the Third Public Workshop for the West End Office Complex
DGS held the third public workshop for the West End Office Complex Project on the evening of June 15, 2005. Approximately 75 community members participated in the workshop and offered their views, opinions, and suggestions to the project team and state officials on the refined alternatives proposed for the office complex and the parking structure. Workshop attendees also were asked to comment on the array of issues expected to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Report for the project. DGS asked attendees to comment specifically on the community outreach process used for this project to assess its value for future similar outreach efforts.

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Executive Summary for the Design Quality and Character Community Workshop

DGS held the fourth public workshop for the West End Office Complex Project on October 26, 2005. The goal of this public workshop was to gain an understanding of the public’s desires and concerns regarding the design characteristics, and qualities of the open space, streetscape/sidewalks, and buildings (office and parking structure) at the West End Office Complex. The intention of the workshop was to gather information that will be considered by the Master Architect when preparing design criteria for the selection of the Complex’s Design/Build Team.

Following a formal presentation, an interactive workshop engaged the public by using image cards of open spaces, sidewalks, and buildings to initiate and stimulate discussion. In groups of five to eight, participants chose four to six images (from a total of 52 images) that they found particularly compelling, and discussed why they liked and/or disliked each image. The executive summary for the workshop includes those images selected by one or more of the groups, and lists those qualities and issues the groups found compelling. The comments are organized in categories of open space, streetscape, office building, and parking structure. The complete executive summary for the workshop is provided at the link below. The workshop and this document do not consider the public’s desires regarding the potential residential development on either Blocks 204 or 266, as it will be designed and built by another party.

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