Cyrus Sanandaji.
Cyrus Sanandaji
Founder and managing principal at Presidio Bay Ventures
During the darker days of the pandemic, when most people were sure no one would ever go back to traditional offices — especially not to Downtown San Francisco where vandalism and crime seemed the rage, and public safety was a supposed afterthought — Cyrus Sanandaji made a contrarian bet.
In August 2023, Presidio Bay Ventures bought 60 Spear Street, an 11-story office building also called 100 Mission Street or 88 Spear Street, the latter the firm’s preferred moniker.
For $40.9 million, Sanandaji says his firm got a screaming deal that in turn encouraged its peers to return to the market, effectively jump-starting the city’s post-pandemic recovery. Institutional capital followed. Has it been a challenge? Of course. Is there hope? Absolutely.
“We have a long way to go,” says Sanandaji, “but in the past year the pendulum shifted.”
He’s proud of the work his firm has done finding alignment between labor unions and construction unions and business — and of Presidio Bay’s ongoing scholarship program intended to educate and create opportunities in real estate for underrepresented populations.
Presidio Bay’s portfolio now includes 5.3 million square feet of new construction and adaptive reuse worth $5.6 billion, according to the company. That square footage touches nearly every aspect of commercial real estate across 39 states, including office, life sciences, multifamily, industrial and mixed-use projects (including other San Francisco properties such as the 101-unit residential project on Geary Boulevard called The Laurel).
He’s also committed to restoring common sense to San Francisco. “To have a thriving city that everyone can afford, you have to pay for social programs. A budget does not exist without an economic growth period. You cannot undermine tech and real estate,” Sanandaji said, joining industry peers in feeling frustrated by major city district attorneys. “We can have both criminal justice reform and the rule of law.”
Crucially, he stresses the importance of seeing what we have in common. “We can all work together. We can achieve goals without destroying the entire system.”
