Corporate Center

"This is the Corporate Center, true locus of power in the city."

- Night City Sourcebook Like any modern metropolis, Night City is always in a state of flux. Over the years, most neighborhoods and districts wend their way through a tortuous cycle, alternating between fashion and disrepair. But one are stands as an exception. It is all landscaped plazas and sculpted architecture. There are no cracks in the sidewalks, the streetlights always work, and there is always a police officer around if you need him, although he may not draw his salary from City Hall. From these wide, orderly streets rise the skyscrapers, lofty and serene over the chaos that is most of the urban ground level, spearing daggerlike through the grey smog above.

Overview
Most of the major office towers are located in the Corporate Plaza, a circular area encompassed by Plaza Drive. The Corps spare no expense in the area's upkeep. This is reflected in the relative safety and elegance of the district Persons who look or act out of place are liable to be stopped and questioned by corporate or city police. Those who can't adequately justify their presence will most likely find themselves quietly but quickly escorted out of the area. The blocks surrounding the Plaza are not quite so tightly controlled as the Plaza itself, but they have a high corporate ambiance, and are upscale enough to warrant a considerable, though discreet, police presence.

This part of the city sees constant activity twenty-four hours a day, although noticeably more so during business hours, when most of the workforce is active and the majority of the area's restaurants, boutiques and shopping courts are open. Vehicular traffic varies from very heavy, during commute hours, to light or moderate in the middle of the night. The Corporate Plaza is extensively serviced by city transit and there are three large transit stations arranged around the circle of Plaza Drive, serving both bus and maglev subway. These are North Plaza at Meridian and Plaza Drive; 14th Street at Plaza and 14th; Williams Street at Plaza and Williams, and Plaza West at Plaza and 14th. There are also bus stops at one block intervals along all bus routes.

In the Plaza itself, one is likely to find corporate executives and service personnel, shoppers, city and corporate police/security. At night, the percentage of shoppers and executives decreases, and the percentage of police, security and service personnel increases. At night the police pay special attention to the area bordering the park and the transit stations. The population and composition of the areas peripheral to the plaza varies depending on whether the blocks are commercial, or residential.

B2#1 The international Cafe and L'Etranger:
A chic businessman's cafe and fern bar, the International is a popular lunch hour watering hole for many of the corporate area's mover set. Next door is the L'Etranger bar, a slick night spot decorated in a continental European theme, and favored by late-working corps and white collar security personnel. Order in the building is maintained by Malcolm, L'Etranger's tuxedo-wearing bouncer. Ever since negotiations between a corp representative and two rival solos deteriorated into a firefight inside the building, Malcolm has been kept on hand at all times. A man of few words, his discretion is matched only by his size, martial competence and marksmanship. The upper floors of this building are apartments frequented by area service and retail personnel.

B2#2 The Balinger Building:
This is a typical small-business building, with fifteen floors of nine-to-five private sector micro-businesses. The largest among them are Parkman Domestic Realty, World insurance, Wrigley & Wrigley inc., Financial Consultants, and the offices of Ben Feinberg, C.P.A. Feinberg is a notable character, as he is accountant to many Night City celebrities, including the Mayor, several local actors and musicians, and a number of wealthy executives from EBM and Net 54.

B2#3 700 9th St.:
This is another small, all-purpose office building. The most notable tenants are Plaza Realty, handling much of the office space and commercial leasing in the corporate area, and the Sunset Bar and Grill, a popular restaurant and bar catering primarily to the residential population. The only time things are rough at the Sunset is when popular bands are playing at the Rainbow Nights club on the next block. Then the normally peaceful clientele is displaced by concert-goers, gang- members and such. On those nights, Sunset owner Barney Chan, a wily Hong Kong emigre, is likely to add some security in the form of members of his son's martially adept street gang, the Hong Kong Musketeers.

B2#4 Dean Warner, Inc.:
This is a typical small, mildly successful financial investment operation. Its clientele includes middle class investors who want good service, but can't afford consulting or brokering on the level of Merrill, Asukaga and Finch, or other large firms.

B2#5 Modem Office Technologies and Robbie's Monster Subs:
Here they sell, leases and distributes office equipment and supplies to small and medium sized local companies. This is their head office. They have warehouses and smaller showrooms throughout the city.

The basement of the MOT building is occupied by Robbie's Monster Subs, a fast-moving, greasy sandwich joint frequented by the lower echelon corporate lunch and dinner crowd. Robbie's is open 24 hours a day, and when the Rainbow Nights club has a good show on, the midnight crowd there can get a little freaky. Robbie, an ex-sumo wrestler from Hawaii, maintains order himself on those nights. His 300 pound bulk can come over the counter fist- first with surprising speed when properly aroused.

B2#6 Pacifica Bank:
AWest Coast mini-bank, not favored by the corporate crowd. Clientele is mostly service personnel and immigrant labor. This building is the Night City head office.

B2#7 Xian Electronic Exchange:
This is a typical downtown electronics store, selling discounted, imported Chinese, Japanese and Korean personal and home electronics and cyberware.

B2#8 Raels Bodysculpting and Tattoo:
This is a somewhat seedy, small-scale cosmetic bodyshop and outpatient cyberware installation joint. It is operated by Rael Sanchez, CMT (Cosmetic Medical Technician). Most of the business comes from the crowd attracted to the adjacent Rainbow Nights dance club. The right connections and an appropriate sum of money will get you admitted to the back of the studio, after hours, when Rael sheds his CMT certification and operates a profitable ripperdoc business. Any illegal cybertech installed.

B2#9 The Rainbow Nights Dance Club:
The Rainbow Nights Dance Club is a fairly large 24-hour club, with a huge dance floor. Most of their acts are local small- timers, with crowds being consistently large, but generally tractable. Once or twice a month, however, they get a big headliner. When that happens, the neighborhood chokes up with a huge number of boosters, chromers, and just plain rowdy kids. The crime rate in the area goes up on these nights, and the City and Corporations deploy extra police.

The club occupies the entirety of a large, low building covering almost half the block. There is a main entrance out front, and a smaller, secure entrance on the back alley. There are fire exits all around which can be opened from the inside only. The roof is bare. Inside is an enormous dance floor with a stage at one end, and a bar at the other. There are offices located in the large backstage area.

Security is tight at all times, and doubly so when they have a big act. Don't expect to get in without a ticket or a hell of a fight.

B2#10 Marshall's Department store:
A large, classy, downtown department store, Marshall's has twenty floors of shopping area topped by thirteen floors of stock-rooms and offices. It runs towards the expensive and stylish, with departments such as designer clothes, electronics and personal cybernetics, imported home accessories, and so on. It is difficult to get through the front door if you look suspicious. Plainclothes store security is tight.

B2#11 The Corporate Showing:
A small, select art theater that shows old films. Often used by the corporate set for clandestine meetings. Admission is 17.50 Eb per showing, and the seats are very comfortable.

B2#12 Kuramoto Galleries:
A large, exclusive art gallery,catering to Night City‘s wealthier residents. The gallery showcases modern and classical art of all varieties, and often hosts invitation-only auctions. Security is provided by an on-site team of German solos. Yamiko Kuramoto, an aging, wealthy dowager-daughter of the Kuramoto family runs this gallery. The family also operates galleries in New York, Tokyo and Bonn.

B2#13 Mac Donovan’s:
A fast food restaurant.

B2#14 10th St. Center:
A mini-mall with several small businesses inside. Included are Nadine’s, a fashionable boutique; R. Bush and Sons- Jewelers; Color Zone, a youth-oriented clothing store; Major Music, a pop-oriented music store, and Zeke’s, a cheap fast food restaurant. Clientele is mostly teen aged throughout this mall, with the exception of the jewelry store.

B2#15 Night City Tourism Office:
This building is the official Night City tourist information center. Here, visitors from abroad, as well as around the country can learn what hotels are appropriate for various budgets, what neighborhoods and areas are recommended for sightseeing or avoidance, where the tourist attractions are, and what areas are scenic or have historical significance. Shopping guides (2 Eb) are also available, as are chipped package tours of the city and surrounding areas (10 Eb).

B2#16 The Regal Hotel:
This is a typical, downtown businessman’s hotel. It is aimed at the middle management and lesser corporate level: classy without being prohibitively expensive or extremely luxurious. The clientele is largely undistinguished and overworked.

B2#17 The Chatworth Tower:
This building is luxury town-houses and apartments. The Chatworth is not quite as slick and expensive as they come, but it is fairly close. The twenty-five floor tower has apartments and town-houses ranging from studios to the enormous pent-house, which is owned by multi-millionaire securities broker Nolan Tagglia and occupies the entire top floor. Most of the units are in the two or three bedroom range, and are rented out to, or owned by, moderately wealthy retirees and well-off travelling businessmen who need a convenient place near the center of commerce. Security at the Chatworth is composed of a contingent of armed guards leased from a local corporate security firm. They are effective without being top-notch. There are usually ten guards on duty at any given time, and a hot-line to the police station.

B2#18 The Town Center:
This is another small, urban mall. It is somewhat larger than the 10th St. Center, and is targeted towards a more mature clientele. Businesses include expensive boutiques and gift stores, a book store, a music store, jewelers, clothing stores, a computer and cybertech store, and an upscale cosmetic bodyshop. There are also a couple of small restaurants and cafes. Patrons include residents of the nearby luxury condo towers, hotel guests, tourists and corporate employees.

B2#19 The Cavalier:
This is an expensive clothing store targeting well-off area residents, corporate executives and rich tourists. The store sells high-quality imported suits, coats, furs, peripherals, and luxury household items. Extremely classy, and impossible to get into if you don‘t obviously have the money to spend. By the way; if you have to ask for a price, it’s too expensive.

B2#20 The Kuroshita Hotel and Convention Center:
This is an expensive, stylish business hotel favored by Japanese corps, tourists and solos. The Kuroshita is known for discretion and elegance. Security is in-house, consisting of uniformed officers and plainclothes solos, all armed. The Kuroshita is also a popular spot for business and trade conventions. There is a 50% chance that the hotel will be hosting a convention at any given time.

B2#21 Plaza East Tower:
This is an upscale residential tower with a view of the park. Small units cost upwards of half a million dollars each to buy, or 5,000 Eb per month to lease. Large units, and the penthouse suites, can cost millions of dollars to buy, and tens of thousands to rent. The residents of the Plaza East Tower are largely wealthy retirees, and older, well financed corporate executives. Security is extremely tight, with access beyond the building lobby restricted to residents and invited guests. Mail and other deliveries are turned over to hotel employees in the secure subterranean vehicular area before being distributed to residents. Security personnel are contracted from a local high-end corporate security firm. All guards are armed, and dressed in police-style uniforms.

B2#22 700, 14th St:
This is another luxury town-house building. It is similar to the Plaza East Tower in all respects, save that it is slightly more expensive due to its amazing view of the park. Residents are of a similar composition, with a slightly higher proportion of wealthy young corp couples.

B2#23 Plaza West Tower:
This is the lowest priced tower on the block as it is shorter than the other buildings, and has no view of the park it still costs upwards of 300,000 euro dollars to buy a unit here, or 3,000 Eb per month to rent Plaza West is popular with wealthy businessmen and couples who want a place near the Corporate Center, and rich foreign corps and solos who want a permanent place in Night City its security is less strict than the other towers, though still tight All guards are provided by an in-house agency.

B2#24 The Parkview Tower:
This is the grand-daddy of them all; the most luxurious, expensive and secure residential tower in the city. It is twice as expensive as the next door Plaza East Tower. Security consists of armed plainclothes agents contracted from Arasaka, and is accordingly tight. Residents vary among local millionaires and billionaires, foreign arms merchants, dictators, corporate heads, celebrities, and Night City corporate VIPs.

Parkview has its own infirmary and a tactical rescue go-team on call at all times. The building is forty-five stories tall, has secure underground vehicular areas, and heliports and AV-4 pads on the roof.

There are fine restaurants, shops and markets inside the building and open to the public, but the residential areas and infirmary are as secure as the insides of the more paranoid corporations. The penthouse is owned by eccentric arms merchant and filthy-rich billionaire Omar Khadabhi. He is rarely seen in the building, spending much of his time on his three-hundred foot yacht, and in his other houses around the world. He comes and goes by private, heavily-armed Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.

B2#25 World Travel Agency:
A large travel agency and tour planning office, offering booking and ticketing for all sorts of travel and vacations. Typical are such things as safaris, cruises, orbital flights, and long range commuter flights.

B2#26 The European Economic Community Consular Building:
This building contains consular offices for all the EEC nations, as well as a combined EEC diplomatic mission. Passport diplomatic, immigration and visa services are available, as well as currency exchange and aid for distressed EEC national tourists. The building also contains an Interpol office and an armed security detachment of twenty-five troops from EEC nations. The Consul Generals and higher placed consular officials live in the Plaza West tower. All other personnel live in the consulate itself. The consulate is a locus for the activities of many Eurocorps and eurosolos.

B2#27 The Soviet Consulate:
This building is the local consular headquarters for the Neo-Soviet Union. Services provided are the same as the EEC consulate, but all Soviet consular personnel live in the consulate building. Security is a detachment of twenty Soviet troops. The Soviet consul-general is a stout, good nature man named Sergei Mosiusnik. He is fond of touring the local bars and restaurants with other consular employees along for fun, and two or three nervous plainclothes troops for security. Mosiusnik is something of a neighborhood card. His actions are frowned upon by the consular political officer, who is also the consular KGB representative. There is little the rep can do however, as Sergei is a blood relation of the President back in Moscow.

B2#28 The Chinese Consulate:
Providing the same services as most other consulates, but in a somewhat lower key than either the Soviet or EEC offices. All personnel live in the building. Security is a detail of fifteen plainclothes Chinese diplomatic police. The Chinese consul- general is seldom seen outside the building.

B2#29 The Mexican Consulate:
Similar in services to all of the other consulates. High-ranking officials, including the consul-general, live at the Chatworth Tower. Security is eighteen Mexican soldiers in plainclothes.

B2#30 Child Creche:
Enter child Creche. For only 50 Eb per day, you can place your child in a secure cryotank, inspected weekly by licenced, credentialed members of Trauma Team@. The child is interfaced into any number of possible braindance tapes, making what would normally be a boring family trip into an exciting and memorable adventure.

B2#37 Red Cab:
The largest private transport company in Night City is Red Cab, Inc, with its fleet of well-maintained, well-armored urban ground cars. Red Cab unit scan be summoned by either data term or phone. The main dispatch office and garage are located in the parking structure on the corner. Red Cab also maintains a fleet of four AV-4’s, used for corporate clients. However, Red Cab is no threat to its main competition (Aerocab) in this regard.

B2#38 Night City Towing and Storage:
These buildings house the offices of the public towing facility for Night City. Any cars towed are placed in the large parking structure to the south. Fines for towed cars are 200-300 Eb for the towing fee. All cars not claimed after 24 hours are considered property of the towing company, and are usually hauled off to a wrecking yard in South Night City, where they are sold as scrap. Especially nice vehicles are held and sold at an auto auction once every six months. Security is very tight, since few people in Night City enjoy paying the outrageous fines and bullets are cheaper.

Corporate Plaza
"Because all of its buildings serve a similar function, the Corporate Plaza is described separately from the rest of sections B2 and B3."

- Night City

B3#13 Arasaka Plaza and Tower:
This is the main office of the Arasaka America division of the Arasaka Corporation, replacing the previous building destroyed in 2013. At 130 stories, it is the tallest building in Night City, and is clearly visible from most areas in clear weather. It is almost two separate buildings, with the twin towers being structurally connected only below the 20th floor. Above that, the narrow (20m) gap between the towers bridged regularly by closed tunnels with exposed walkways on top. Above the 90th floor, the tunnels have no exposed walkways or windows. The towers are featureless surfaced in black glass and steel, imparting a rather sinister look. The logo and name are on a black marble plaque that stands by the walkway to the main entrance. There are heliports and AV-4 pads on both tower roofs, and a restricted subterranean parking and loading area. Each tower has its own internal elevators and stairways.

Only the ground floor reception area of the Arasaka tower is open to the public. There are no public facilities in the building. Private company facilities include general and executive cafeterias, a surgical/trauma center, a company store and equipment center, a recreation center and sleeping quarters and barracks.

All building access is tightly controlled. Armed security troops patrol the roof, grounds, parking area, and building interiors 24 hours a day. No unauthorized vehicles are permitted on the roof, or in the subterranean areas. Authorization can be given only if one has an appointment, appears on a traffic/ commercial manifest or schedule, or is cleared by someone within the company. Similar conditions apply to persons who wish to proceed beyond the reception area. The Arasaka Plaza, a small park surrounding the building, is open to the public, but company security patrols at all times.

B3#14 Petrochem international:
As Night City isn't a big oil port or refining area, Petrochem maintains only a relatively small 50-story office here. It primarily services the petroleum by-products, high-tech, and advanced polymer research divisions of the company. The building itself is squat and unremarkable, surfaced in black glass and grey stone. The roof has an AV-4 pad and a heliport. There is a subterranean parking lot and loading dock. All elevator shafts and stairwells are internal.

The reception area of the Petrochem building is open to the public but there are no public services in the building other than a small museum and gift shop/public relations department. The company facilities, including a cafeteria, small gymnasium and company store are generally off limits to the public.

All access beyond the first floor is controlled, and all areas are patrolled 24 hours a day. Because of the sensitive nature of Petrochem's R&D, armed staff security is quite high in the building, and computer security is third only to that of Arasaka and Infocomp. There is a detachment of corporate troops on call at all times.

Notable People
This is a list of a lot of the notable people in the Corporate Center.
 * Yoru Tomobiki
 * Dr. Jasmine Lai Ket
 * William Joseph Brentwood
 * Michiko Arasaka
 * Fiona Hayes
 * Sergei Mosiusnik
 * Yamiko Kuramoto
 * Franklin M‘bolu
 * Willie Maxwell
 * Nolan Tagglia
 * Clive Richards
 * Omar Khadabhi
 * Lisa Parker
 * Masters Hanson
 * Mina Steward