Kaiser Permanente, the nonprofit health system based in California, has canceled its plans to build new headquarters expected to cost $900 million.

The news was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. The project was expected to be a significant boost to the local economy in Oakland, where the headquarters was set to be built. The new headquarters would have housed more than 7,000 employees, which are currently spread across seven offices in East Bay.

The cancellation comes at a time when the economy has suffered a major blow from the new coronavirus, COVID-19, which has put nearly one in five workers out of work as efforts to contain the spread of the virus shut down businesses.

However, Kaiser did not state the cancellation of the project is because of COVID-19 specifically.

"Delays and increasing costs related to this project caused us to re-examine the feasibility and focus on renovating our current buildings. The decision is not related to COVID-19," Kaiser told Health Exec. "Kaiser Permanente appreciates the hard work by the developer and its team on the 2100 Telegraph Avenue project. We wish them well with the project and look forward to welcoming new neighbors to downtown Oakland when it’s completed."

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