City Center Building
| City Center Building | |
|---|---|
Hayward City Center Building
|
|
| Former names | Centennial Tower |
| General information | |
| Status | Abandoned |
| Type | City hall Business offices |
| Location | 22300 Foothill Boulevard |
| Coordinates | 37°40′46″N 122°04′56″W / 37.679405°N 122.082353°WCoordinates: 37°40′46″N 122°04′56″W / 37.679405°N 122.082353°W |
| Construction started | 1966 |
| Completed | 1969 |
| Opened | October 18, 1969 |
| Owner | Mika Realty of Los Angeles |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 11 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Mitchell Van Bourg |
The City Center Building, known briefly as Centennial Tower, is clearly visible as the tallest building in Hayward, California. It is the tallest in Hayward, and was previously the second tallest, until the 2013 razing of Warren Hall on the Cal State East Bay campus. It is currently an abandoned building located between Foothill Boulevard and City Center Drive, in the City Center section of Downtown Hayward, adjacent to the PlazaCenter mall. It was formerly used as Hayward City Hall.
The City of Hayward opened the steel reinforced concrete building on October 18, 1969. It was originally planned to have 20 floors and a cinema, but only 11 floors were built, with no cinema. The building served as Hayward's city hall from 1969 to 1998. Its top floor was the seat of municipal government and other floors were leased to businesses. It was designed to replace the old Hayward city hall, now located at Alex Giulini Plaza. It was the first building in the planned City Center complex. Architectural critic Allan Temko nicknamed the building "the toaster" in the 1970s, strongly influencing public opinion against it. The Centennial Hall Convention Center was added to the complex.
In the 1980s, the PlazaCenter complex of retail and commercial businesses was built next to it, on the former grounds of Hayward High School.
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the building's structural integrity and the city government moved out of the building. In 1998, after the completion of the new city hall, the building was closed to the public. The city sold the building for $1.5 million in 1998 to a developer who planned to convert it to condominiums. They renamed it "Centennial Tower" and sold it to another developer. Condominium conversion was never implemented, as it was considered too expensive. In 2006 plans were made to demolish the building. A year later, the demolition was canceled. On November 1, 2009, the adjacent Centennial Hall Convention Center closed, and was subsequently demolished.
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