The rumors about Jeffrey Romoff's new 62nd floor office atop the U.S. Steel Tower are extravagant in the telling -- access to a working helipad on the roof, imported leather floor and wall coverings in the executive suite, and a special elevator just for the president of the region's largest hospital system and employer. But none is true, as University of Pittsburgh Medical Center officials pointed out during a recent tour of the new headquarters space.

"What is a leather floor covering?" asked UPMC Senior Vice President Gregory Peaslee.

Instead of cowhide, a "renewable" wool carpet will cover the floor in Mr. Romoff's 645-square-foot space, which lacked furniture as of Thursday. UPMC has no plans to upgrade and resurrect a helipad on the roof, and no separate elevator exists for the 62nd floor, once the setting for countless weddings and celebratory dinners as the Top of the Triangle restaurant.

Not that the president's office is without advantages.

Ten-foot-high, floor-to-ceiling windows provide a view of the city that no one else in Pittsburgh can match, and a private hallway lined with 1-inch-by-1-inch American stone tile leads to a private bathroom, complete with white ceramic toilet and stand-up shower. Automated shades installed throughout the 62nd floor will shield occupants from the sun on bright days, and photosensors in the ceiling will trigger more interior light during cloudier days. In the reception area outside Mr. Romoff's office is travertine marble from Italy, and silk wall coverings. Elsewhere is a boardroom, a catering kitchen and separate 360-square-foot offices for about 15 high-ranking UPMC executives, plus dark-wood-framed workstations for their corporate secretaries and support staff.

UPMC, a $7 billion nonprofit that currently employs 48,000 and oversees 20 local hospitals, declined to detail the costs involved in its eight-month-long renovation of the new U.S. Steel Tower headquarters it will begin occupying next weekend as part of a shift from Oakland to Downtown. But the expense, argued UPMC Vice President Eric Cartwright, is "comparable to everything else people are building Downtown."

It is difficult to estimate what UPMC might have spent on its initial build-out of five floors and 186,000 square feet or how much might have been picked up by the landlord in the form of a "building allowance," said Jeff Burd, publisher of Ross-based Breaking Ground Magazine. Most Downtown office renovations, he said, run $25 to $30 per square foot for rank-and-file space and at least $100 per square foot for the executive suite. According to that calculation, the bill for Mr. Romoff's office alone would be $64,500.

But David Ross, who designed the space for UPMC, argues that Mr. Romoff's office is 15 percent to 23 percent smaller than the typical executive office at big Downtown corporations surveyed by Mr. Ross. Also, the other executive offices on the 62nd floor are 20 to 25 percent smaller than similar spaces at other firms, added Mr. Ross, a principal with The Design Alliance Architects.

On the lower floors, Mr. Ross said, the open-air workstations designed for UPMC's other administrative employees are 8 feet by 6 feet, 8 by 8 and 8 by 12 -- larger than average, according to Mr. Ross -- and the offices for directors are 185 square feet while vice presidents will have 250 square-foot spaces.

"The staff offices are larger at UPMC, but the executive offices are much smaller than the typical Pittsburgh corporations," Mr. Ross said. "That speaks to the whole notion of how UPMC treats and values its people."

As compared to the 62nd floor, the rest of UPMC's space on 58, 57, 56 and 22 features smaller windows and less natural light. For that reason, UPMC grouped many of its workstations and offices closer to the center so sunshine could penetrate throughout and employees could adjust to working in the triangular, acre-sized floors.

Lower down, the lighting system works the way it does on the 62nd floor, with sensors adjusting to the weather, the time of day and how occupied the space is. UPMC's projected savings from lighting controls is 35 percent per regular floor and 6 percent upstairs in the executive suite.

Lighting is one of several features UPMC hopes will qualify this project for certification in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) -- a sought-after rating determined by a project's energy and water efficiency, demolition waste disposal, access to public transportation and use of nontoxic materials. One of its first moves on that front was to request recycling dumpsters from the landlord, and it is talking to the housekeeping contractor about using cleaning products low in toxins, said Doug Schlauch, UPMC's director of architecture, facilities and construction.

It looks as if the lower floors will be more energy efficient than the top floor, Mr. Schlauch told an audience Wednesday at a GreenSense 2008 conference Downtown, but both will produce savings. One challenge on 62 is the combination of speciality lighting and perimeter heating required to prevent drafts caused by floor-to-ceiling windows. UPMC is responsible for all utility costs on that top floor.

Throughout the interior redesign, a process managed by Mascaro Construction, strict attention was paid to the pollutants in paints and wall fiberboard, the amount of dust emitted, the disposal of waste and the purchase of desks made of recycled material. Many employees are also reusing furniture they have already in Oakland.

UPMC also is promoting alternative transportation options Downtown. There are only 700 parking spaces in the basement of the U.S. Steel Tower, presenting UPMC with "some employee satisfaction issues," Mr. Schlauch said on Wednesday. As a result, UPMC workers are encouraged to use the subway, which connects to the building, or a UPMC shuttle that runs back and forth to Oakland. UPMC also has reserved 100 hours a month in car-sharing services via Zipcar, allowing workers to use vehicles stationed Downtown and in Oakland. UPMC also is considering showers and changing areas for employees who bike to work.

By 2012, the health system expects to occupy as many as 14 floors and more than half a million square feet in the city's tallest office tower, bringing 2,250 people Downtown every day. This, it hopes, will free much-needed clinical space in Oakland and demonstrate the institution's commitment to the Pittsburgh area as its largest employer.

The move to U.S. Steel is a marketing maneuver, as well. In early April, a helicopter is scheduled to hoist the white-lettered 'UPMC' logo atop all three sides of the building, giving the health system visibility from miles around.

A film crew will capture the moment, a spokesman said, "for archival purposes."