Shvo Inks Office Lease That Sets Price Record in San Francisco

Shvo’s $400 million renovation of San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid is working wonders. 

Michael Shvo’s luxury development firm has inked three lease deals at the iconic property spanning a total of 25,000 square feet — one of which clocked in with rent over $300 per square foot. That price is both a record for San Francisco and the second-highest price per square foot ever paid in the U.S., according to Shvo. (The priciest deal on record is at SL Green’s One Vanderbilt tower in New York City, which has had asking rents as high as $322 per square foot.) JLL‘s Chris Roeder, Matt Shewey and Carlye Parker represented the landlord in the deal.

Investment management firm Coatue and Mizuho Financial Group are two of the tenants, though the name of the third tenant was not disclosed. Two of the lease deals were for roughly 5,000 square feet, and one deal was for roughly 15,000 square feet, according to a source familiar with the deal, but further details were not available. The property, which Shvo acquired in 2020 for $650 million, is currently 85 percent leased. 

“Transamerica Pyramid Center continues to drive the revitalization of Downtown San Francisco, achieving record-breaking rents and creating a hub of activity and momentum in the neighborhood,” Shvo said in a statement. “Most importantly, we are attracting the kind of premier, top-tier tenants that reinforce Transamerica Pyramid’s iconic place in the skyline and send a global signal that San Francisco’s future is bright.”

Nine other new tenants collectively secured a total of 222,000 square feet at Transamerica Pyramid late last year, Shvo announced in December. Last March, Shvo inked a seven-floor, 123,000-square-foot deal with law firm Morgan Lewis at the newly upgraded tower.

Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.