Less than half the size of the original tower proposed a decade ago, Lithia Motors’ new headquarters still sparkles above The Commons in downtown Medford and delivers commanding views in every direction.

A handful of buildings loom higher in the Medford skyline, but none cuts a figure like this one. From the top floor, Wagner and Anderson buttes seem within grasp, and Roxy Ann Peak seems a mere stone’s throw. Passenger airlines ease by at eye level.

The bistro-style break rooms on each floor provide the best brown-bag-lunch seating in town, and the headquarters’ proximity to the viaduct provides a contrasting, urban view.

“Where else can you see cars floating through trees?” Chief Executive Officer Bryan DeBoer said. “From here, it looks kind of cool.”

After years of being tucked away in claustrophobic cubicles, navigating Byzantine dark corridors in bland buildings held in a Maryland real estate investment trust portfolio, the 270 Lithia Motors corporate employees are staging a coming-out party in their $14 million digs.

“It brings eight departments together,” DeBoer said. “It allows cohesive, logistical relationships to occur. Just the open space and environment creates an open dialogue. At times, people in our organization may have worked in silos to some extent, and today I think those walls are gone.”

At week’s beginning, 40 percent of Lithia’s home office staff had taken up residence. By Aug. 20, the move should be accomplished, with the surrounding urban-park Commons targeted for an October completion date.

Lithia partnered with the Medford Urban Renewal Agency to create The Commons, a revitalization project that includes the headquarters and another $14 million in infrastructure and three park blocks paid for with MURA dollars.

Lithia originally had hoped to build a 10-story building but scaled down the project when the economy went sour.

“It’s such a different work environment,” marveled Chris Cooley of LAD Marketing, Lithia’s marketing department. “It’s like going to first grade again. There’s a camaraderie and cross-pollination of thoughts because you’re seeing people you haven’t seen for months.”