Upgrade Plans Detailed For Transamerica Building
Manhattan-based developer Shvo has filed its plans for a second phase of renovations to the Transamerica Center, The San Francisco Business Times reported Thursday.
Shvo closed on a deal to purchase the Transamerica Pyramid from Aegon in the latter half of 2020 after a delay of several months. It paid $850 per SF, with the total purchase clocking in at $650M.
The planned upgrades to the building are extensive, with the developer proposing an addition of more than 55K SF. The bulk of the additional square footage will be dedicated to office space, at just under an additional 50K SF, with the remaining 5K SF dedicated to ground-floor retail. The company is projecting the planned additions to take 18 months. The total cost of the renovations is $400M, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in late March.
Additions to the property, which will include floor-length windows, along with several amenities, are being designed by architect Foster + Partners. Plans for the building also include the addition of a 1,250 SF public space, and another 1,810 SF of open space. The original faces of the building that run along Sansome Street will be retained.
The project will result in the demolition of a retail space at 501-505 Washington St., including the longstanding Sai’s Vietnamese Restaurant. According to The San Francisco Business Times, Shvo founder and CEO Michael Shvo had promised to help relocate the business, but the process has been slow going and frustrating for the longtime restaurant owners. KTVU reported in February that the restaurant would be able to keep running until a new location was found, following a last-minute reprieve, and that the unpaid rent on the property would be forgiven by Shvo.
