San Francisco's most recognizable skyscraper is getting into the holiday spirit. The Transamerica Pyramid Center will host its first-ever holiday market in Redwood Park this December, complete with a towering Christmas tree, an alpine-inspired cocktail lounge, live performances and holiday movie nights.
The inaugural Transamerica Pyramid Center Holiday Market is being organized through a partnership between the tower's new owner, Yoda PLC, and RASA World, the events company behind the sold-out Pier Play festival series that drew a crowd of 3,000 for its San Francisco debut at Pier 70, according to financialcontent.com. Organizers say the market will fill Redwood Park with local vendors, seasonal food and 12 nights of special programming, including outdoor holiday movies, live music, concerts and Santa appearances for families.
Plans also call for an evening series dubbed Après Sessions, featuring an alpine-style lounge serving craft cocktails, records and live performances by local artists, the same release notes. Official dates, the vendor lineup and the full seasonal schedule had not been announced as of the release, which said those details would be revealed in the coming weeks.
A New Owner With Big Ambitions for the Pyramid
The holiday market follows Yoda PLC's purchase of the Transamerica Pyramid and two adjacent office buildings for $725 million in March, a deal that closed March 27 according to Institutional Real Estate, Inc. Yoda Group CEO Alon Bar said the acquisition was about more than preservation. “Our ambition has been not only to preserve its legacy, but to bring new energy and life to the entire complex,” Bar said, per financialcontent.com.
The 48-story tower, designed by architect William Pereira and completed in 1972, has long been one of San Francisco's defining landmarks. The holiday market will add a seasonal offering to a complex that already has a public-facing presence.
Leasing Momentum Follows a Major Renovation
The holiday push comes as Yoda continues to fill office space at the complex. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the firm has signed seven new leases totaling roughly 113,000 square feet since the start of the year, spanning legal, finance and technology tenants as well as a flexible workplace operator. The paper also notes that Café Sebastian and Ama, two restaurants that had operated at the property, vacated their spaces after the Pyramid's sale.
Yoda has said it wants to add 10 move-in-ready spec suites and a full-floor amenity center at Two Transamerica, the smaller office building on the property, and the Chronicle's reporting indicates the company plans further upgrades across the complex, including at Three Transamerica, in the coming months. Those moves follow a roughly $400 million renovation completed under the tower's previous ownership, which redesigned the lobby, converted four office floors into amenity space, installed a new spire lighting system and upgraded Redwood Park itself, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Projected Economic Impact for the Financial District
A report prepared for prior owner SHVO projected that once the complex is fully stabilized, it could generate up to 6,500 new jobs and $2.5 billion annually, with operations expected to deliver more than $27 million in tax and fee revenues each year, the civil engineering group's report states. Transamerica had sold the tower in 2020 to SHVO and Deutsche Finance America for $650 million before Yoda's purchase this year, the same source notes.
That history adds context to why a public holiday market matters for the building's new chapter. A full-scale renovation followed the 2020 purchase by a German consortium led by Michael Shvo, according to The San Francisco Standard, and the Pyramid's new owners now appear to be building on that foundation by turning Redwood Park into a seasonal gathering spot.
