Capital & Leasing Outlook: What’s Driving Deals in the Bay Area Office Market?

Deal Flow, Transactions, Pricing, and What’s Shaping Today’s Office Investment Landscape

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  Matthew Friedman

  Mr. Friedman, based in San Francisco, has 17 years of experience in the real estate industry. Mr. Friedman focuses on West Coast acquisitions and asset management across property sectors. Prior to joining Rockwood in 2009, Mr. Friedman was an Associate at Eastdil Secured, a real estate investment bank, focusing on institutional investment sales with a primary focus on office, residential and retail properties. Prior to Eastdil Secured, Mr. Friedman was a Consultant at Bates White, an economic/litigation consulting firm. Mr. Friedman received a Bachelor of Science in Economics, summa cum laude, from Duke University. Mr. Friedman is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

  Rockwood Capital

  Managing Director

  Matthew Friedman

  Managing Director

  Rockwood Capital

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  Stephanie Ting

  Stephanie is an Executive Vice President at The Swig Company, where she leads acquisitions, capital markets and capital raising. The Swig Company is a vertically-integrated family office that focuses primarily on office buildings and some multifamily properties. The Swig Family has an 85-year history and currently owns a little under 8MM SF of mostly office properties in New York, Bay Area, Southern California and Seattle. Prior to joining Swig in 2021, Stephanie was previously an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley's real estate investing group, where she spent more than a decade working in acquisitions. At Morgan Stanley, Stephanie acquired and managed core and opportunistic real estate investments worth approximately $2.5 billion across all asset classes. At Morgan Stanley, Stephanie was also an active member of the group’s U.S. sustainability committee and led Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) efforts. Stephanie grew up in Hong Kong and Canada, graduated magna cum laude in Economics from Harvard University and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a member of ULI and NAIOP. Stephanie is a Co-Chair of the ULI SF Programs Committee, and sits on the ULI SF Executive Committee, the ULI SF Commercial Local Product Council and a ULI National Product Council.

  The Swig Company

  EVP, Investments

  Stephanie Ting

  EVP, Investments

  The Swig Company

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  Jace Bertges

  Executive Director with PGIM Real Estate responsible for sourcing and originating a broad range of commercial mortgage investments including general account, agency, and bridge/high yield real estate debt. I am based in Los Angeles and focus on client relationships in Los Angeles, the Inland Empire and San Diego.

  PGIM Real Estate

  Executive Director

  Jace Bertges

  Executive Director

  PGIM Real Estate

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  Edward Del Beccaro

  Ed’s career spans 40 plus years in the real estate industry in the San Francisco Bay area. After starting his career at Grubb & Ellis in 1977, Ed ran his own development company from 1983 - 1992. Ed’s background includes brokerage, property development both residential and commercial, property management, property entitlements and consulting services. Since getting back into full-time brokerage, Ed has been the East Bay manager at Colliers, Grubb & Ellis, and Transwestern. Ed has represented the following cities of Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Clayton and Concord in their excess sites. In his career, Ed has leased or sold over seven million square feet of real estate. A few representative clients include UCSF, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, California Bank & Trust, Mechanics Bank, Wells Fargo and Community Bank of the Bay. Recently, Ed successfully co-marketed the Lyric and Midtown mixed use residential/ retail developments in Walnut Creek. Ed is also a frequent speaker on local and regional economic development topics.

  TRI Commercial

  EVP

  Edward Del Beccaro

  EVP

  TRI Commercial

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  Haris Totakhail

  Haris Totakhail is a highly accomplished and driven business leader with over 25 years of extensive experience in commercial real estate, asset management, and portfolio optimization. Currently serving as VP - Head of Leasing/Sales - US West & Canada and Head of US/Canada Broker Partnerships at WeWork, Haris specializes in corporate real estate portfolio strategy, workplace optimization, and financial structuring. Throughout his career, including significant roles at JLL and CBRE, he has demonstrated expertise in strategic planning, financial decision-making, valuation, transaction structuring, and cross-functional team leadership. Haris is known for his success in marketing and business development, effectively engaging with large organizations and C-level executives, and is recognized for his leadership, teamwork, efficiency, and attention to detail. He holds a degree in Finance and Real Estate from the University of Colorado at Boulder – Leeds School of Business.

  WeWork

  VP, Head of Leasing

  Haris Totakhail

  VP, Head of Leasing

  WeWork

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  Cherie Song

  Cherie Y. Song is a Partner in Lubin Olson's Real Estate and Business Practice Groups. She specializes in commercial leasing, acquisitions and dispositions, and telecommunications. Ms. Song represents institutional landlords, multi-billion dollar investment management companies, REITs, pension funds, and national retailers in a broad range of lease-related matters for office, retail, industrial, mixed-use properties and telecommunications assets. She also represents developers and investors in the acquisition, development, disposition and financing of commercial properties. Her practice also includes advising startups and private companies on various real estate and business-related matters. Prior to joining Lubin Olson, Ms. Song practiced in the San Francisco office of Buchalter Nemer and the Los Angeles office of McGuireWoods. Ms. Song was honored by Thompson Reuters as a Super Lawyer “Rising Star” in 2009 and 2010.

  Lubin Olson

  Partner

  Moderator

  Cherie Song

  Partner

  Lubin Olson

The Experience-Driven Office: What’s Next?

How Today’s Most Forward-Thinking Offices Foster Collaboration, Productivity, and Well-Being

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  Gordon L'Estrange

  VP, Global Real Estate

  Salesforce

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  Kamala Subbarayan

  Experienced real estate design & construction and workplace leader. Adept at aligning real estate strategies and delivery with business objectives. Navigate all phases of a business life cycle from hypergrowth to operational efficiency. Over 20+ years of experience leading, building & inspiring successful teams to deliver results/projects across the world. From world class offices and workspaces, biotech research and labs and academic learning environments to site selection and large scale site development. My unique capabilities is the deep real estate, design and construction expertise with a proven track record of aligning it to business outcomes. With solutions that consider the short-term and long-term risks and opportunities, with on-time delivery and efficient capital management. Focused on finding the intersection of business strategy, people and culture, I’m passionate about creating innovative and sustainable solutions that foster productivity, collaboration, and employee well-being.

  Google

  Real Estate & Workplace Services Lead

  Kamala Subbarayan

  Real Estate & Workplace Services Lead

  Google

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  Alex Schwiebert

  Alex Schwiebert is a Senior Vice President of Asset Management at Jamestown. He is primarily focused on West Coast assets. Prior to joining Jamestown, Mr. Schwiebert was Asset Manager of a large, Northern Virginian data center portfolio for Digital Realty Trust, where he oversaw design, development, lease-up, and management of multiple large-scale projects in various stages of completion. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Acquisitions and Director of Asset Management at Level Office Management, a Chicago-based real estate investment company that focuses on value-add office and coworking. Mr. Schwiebert received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with minors in Mathematics and Spanish from Hope College, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He received a JD-MBA with a focus in real estate from the Kellogg School of Management and the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

  Jamestown

  SVP, Asset Management

  Alex Schwiebert

  SVP, Asset Management

  Jamestown

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  Matt Slayen

  With nearly three decades of construction experience, Matt Slayen brings precision, insight, and creativity to every project he leads. He has built some of the Bay Area’s most refined office spaces for clients such as Reed Smith, Rakuten, PwC, and Gensler. He is known for estimating with precision, and an ability to plan for multiple project scenarios with clarity and accuracy. Matt specializes in building law firms, technology spaces, and large, multi-floor, complex projects on time, on budget, and with accuracy. At Skyline, Matt leads the Preconstruction & Estimating team, guiding projects from concept through execution with a focus on value, collaboration, and results. Matt holds a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College. Off the clock, he’s an avid Lego enthusiast, with a 1,200-set collection that he sometimes shares with his two kids.

  Skyline Construction

  Principal

  Matt Slayen

  Principal

  Skyline Construction

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  Danielle Bakalar

  Danielle Bakalar is a member of Korn Ferry’s Global Real Estate Team. In this capacity, she partners with boards, CEOs, and senior leadership teams to deliver executive search solutions across the real estate industry. She leads search strategy development, identifies and engages top talent in the candidate community, and is the ultimate team partner to ensure smooth and successful search execution. Throughout Danielle’s tenure at Korn Ferry, she has led numerous prominent searches for leading real estate investment trusts, private equity firms, developers and operating companies with placements spanning across all sectors and functions, including Chief Executive Officer, finance, investments, acquisitions, development, capital markets, asset management and operations. Danielle also supports clients with executive recruitment, succession planning, assessment, and leadership development strategies. Prior to joining Korn Ferry, Danielle served as an Executive Search Manager at a global boutique executive search firm where she focused on placing transformational C-level leaders across a variety of functional areas including CEO/President/General Management, Merchandising, Marketing, eCommerce, Human Resources, Sales, and Operations. Danielle holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Nutrition, and a Master’s degree in Food Studies from New York University.

  Korn Ferry

  Principal

  Danielle Bakalar

  Principal

  Korn Ferry

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  Ryan Day

  Ryan Day is a design leader with deep expertise in the flex office industry. They began with in-house design for a leading global operator before creating bespoke flex solutions for landlords across the U.S. and London. At Playbook, Ryan focuses on building performance-driven, hospitality-led productivity hubs that transform offices into vibrant venues—spaces that make the workday more productive, connected, and valuable for both tenants and owners.

  Playbook

  VP of Design and Development

  Ryan Day

  VP of Design and Development

  Playbook

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  Cheryl Kervin

  With 20 years of experience in telecom and real estate, Cheryl is dedicated to delivering advanced shared network infrastructure to customers in California and the US Southwest. Her previous roles include significant positions at Tesla, T-Mobile, and Ericsson, where she led teams, managed large-scale projects, and developed strategic initiatives.

  Boldyn

  Sr Director

  Moderator

  Cheryl Kervin

  Sr Director

  Boldyn

Revitalizing Office Assets: Development, Delivery, and Repurposing Strategies

From Strategic Upgrades and Repositioning to Flight-to-Quality Trends and Tenant Improvements

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  Aaron Fenton

  Experienced Senior Vice President with a demonstrated history of successfully working in the real estate industry. Skilled in Acquisitions, Design, Entitlements, Permitting and Construction Management. Strong program and project management professional with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) focused in Business Administration and Management from Saint Mary's College of California and a BS from Duke University in Durham, NC. Oversees development activities for Boston Properties in the Bay Area with a current development pipeline of 6.6 million square feet of commercial creative office and life science projects. Executed on $1 billion of development including projects such as 680 Folsom (500,000 sf office building redevelopment), 690 Folsom (25,000 sf office/retail redevelopment) 50 Hawthorne (55,000 sf office building redevelopment), 535 Mission (307,000 sf ground-up office building), The Skylyne at Temescal (ground-up 402 unit 24-story luxury multi-family high-rise in Oakland). Executed entitlements on 3.5 million square feet across 5 large projects (commercial office and multi-family). Very familiar with the entitlement process in the Bay Area including extensive CEQA and political knowledge.

  BXP

  SVP, Development

  Aaron Fenton

  SVP, Development

  BXP

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  Kathryn Hofstetter

  Katie is a Senior Vice President at Strada, concentrating on development, acquisitions, asset management, property management and marketing. She is involved in all stages of the development process, from initial diligence to entitlements to construction of a project. Katie currently acts as Development Associate on Strada’s 1629 Market Street and 1100 Clay Street projects. Additionally, Katie serves as the Property Manager for Strada’s Roseville Innovation Park and 3068 Kilgore properties in the greater Sacramento area. Katie earned a B.S. in journalism from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

  Strada Investment Group

  SVP

  Kathryn Hofstetter

  SVP

  Strada Investment Group

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  Zephyr Snyder

  President

  WCI GC

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  Nadia Anis

  Ms. Anis is an architect and partner at Ferrari Moe; an architectural and engineering firm based in San Francisco specializing in all aspects of historic and contemporary building envelope restoration. Ms. Anis has extensive experience in diagnostic and remedial designs and construction. She obtained a Master of Architecture and Urban Design from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering from Cairo University.

  Ferrari Moe

  Architect, Partner

  Nadia Anis

  Architect, Partner

  Ferrari Moe

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  Tony Natsis

  A name partner of the firm, Anton N. Natsis is Chair of Allen Matkins’ Real Estate Department and is one of the top real estate attorneys in the United States. His practice focuses on development, leasing, purchase and sale, and portfolio investment sales transactions involving office, retail, and industrial projects, as well as arbitrating numerous fair market value disputes, CAM disputes and other significant landlord/tenant disputes. He also has extensive experience in debt, equity, and joint venture workouts, and the purchase of distressed assets and distressed debt. Tony is continually sought out by some of the largest national land owners, such as J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Blackstone Real Estate, Brookfield Properties, HCP, Vornado Realty Trust, Regent Properties, The Irvine Company, Boston Properties, Equity Office Properties, Kilroy Realty, Inc., Beacon Capital Partners, MPG Office Trust, Kamehameha Schools (The Bishop Estate) and Westfield Corporation. He represents many governmental entities, including the LAUSD, State of California, and City of Anaheim. Tony is also frequently retained as counsel for major national office tenants, such as AT&T, Citicorp, the FDIC, AIG, The Walt Disney Company, and the Los Angeles Times. A frequent lecturer and author, Tony is the chief consultant for the California Continuing Education of the Bar Commercial Leasing Series, the legal education reference book on leasing for California attorneys, is an adjunct professor of law at Loyola Law School for a course covering commercial real estate transactions, and has spoken before such national real estate groups as ULI and BOMA. Tony is a founding board member of The Ziman Real Estate Center, which is governed under the joint auspices of the UCLA Anderson School of Business and the UCLA Law School. In the past decade, Tony has closed commercial office leases exceeding 50 million square feet. He has worked on real estate purchase contracts with a total consideration of more than $30 billion and on development transactions with a total consideration in excess of $25 billion. Since 2006, Tony has represented clients in office building portfolio investment sales transactions involving over $75 billion of consideration. One of Tony's most significant transactions is the largest real estate acquisition deal in the history of the United States. He provided extensive real estate services in connection with Blackstone Real Estate's purchase of Equity Office Properties Trust, at that point the largest owner of office space in the U.S. other than the Federal Government, for $43 billion. Subsequently, Blackstone contracted to sell over 50% of the properties it purchased with such sales closing in the first and second quarter of 2007. Tony assisted Blackstone in its acquisition due diligence related to EOP and the subsequent sales of the properties. The transactions related to this deal included Maguire Properties' purchase of Blackstone/EOP in Orange County for $2 billion, Irvine Company's purchase of Blackstone/EOP in San Diego for $1 billion, Morgan Stanley's purchase of Blackstone/EOP in San Francisco for $2.5 billion, and Beacon Capital Partners’ purchase of Blackstone/EOP Seattle for $6.3 billion.

  Allen Matkins

  Partner

  Moderator

  Tony Natsis

  Partner

  Allen Matkins

Remarks from the Podium

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  Toby Littin

  Toby Littin is the Colorado-based co-founder and CEO of Parkable, a technology company helping commercial property owners and asset managers unlock more value from parking by improving tenant experience and asset performance. Before Parkable, he founded and exited two startups in biofuel and wind energy, worked in venture capital managing R&D grants program deploying $1bn early-stage technology companies, and now also serves on the board of Power Tech, a renewable energy engineering company.

  Parkable

  Co-founder and CEO

  Toby Littin

  Co-founder and CEO

  Parkable

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  Nathan Cheeseman

  Nathan joined Forsite in 2021, bringing decades of experience from leadership roles across the travel, telecommunications and financial services industries. Before coming to Forsite, Nathan spent 14 years at XE, a global currency and international payments company headquartered in Kansas. In his last position there, he was part of the global exec team and led the global commercial business operations, working with teams across the globe including Austin, LA, and Seattle. Nathan is truly passionate about delivering client solutions that are easy to use, minimize risk, and enhance productivity and efficiency.

  Forsite

  CEO

  Nathan Cheeseman

  CEO

  Forsite