“This project gives me goosebumps,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed told the audience assembled to celebrate the first event of a year-long celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the Transamerica Pyramid, one of the most recognizable landmarks in the San Francisco skyline and the subject of a $400 million renovation by its new owner, luxury developer Michael Shvo.
Mayor London Breed and Michael Shvo
In an exclusive interview with TRD at the event, Shvo likened the building to a favorite child among his many luxury projects and explained why the iconic nature of the building plus its soon-to-be revamped interior and amenities should keep it immune from the office market headwinds facing the rest of the city and the national market.
The Transamerica Pyramid
Ditching his black blazer to address the crowd in just a black t-shirt despite the chilly San Francisco morning, Shvo spoke of his $650 million purchase of the building in 2020 as pre-ordained. He showed the crowd — including former mayor WIllie Brown, State Senator Scott Wiener and Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who represents the district where Shvo and his German financial partners Deutsche Finance now own not just the famous pyramid but the rest of the block surrounding it as well — pictures of himself at the pyramid as a seven-year-old, as well as a drawing he made when he got back to his native Israel of himself standing next to the tower in an assignment about what he wanted to be when he grew up.
“My dream was the pyramid,” said Shvo, who added that he and the building were born only two weeks apart in 1972.
Read more
Commercial
New York
Shvo, Deutsche Finance close on Transamerica Pyramid for $650M
Commercial
San Francisco
Shvo sheds light on second phase of Transamerica Center makeover