It’s the way we think 
that sets us apart.

TMG Partners has been in the business of developing award-winning, financially-successful, community-based real estate for 40 years. As much as we have accomplished over the last four decades, we believe it is the way we THINK about our region, the risks we manage, the critical timing of our projects and the value we create that sets us apart.
Localism

Real Estate is
a local business.

No, really.

The San Francisco Bay Area is an extremely diverse real estate marketplace with countless micro-business climates teeming with possibility. But you have to be here—and know here—to make the most of the opportunities all around us. Having been exclusively committed to the Bay Area for four decades, we have developed a keen local intuition which gives us a unique advantage in recognizing both the opportunities and risks in this complex market.
Regionalism

We Think 
Mega

If we try to solve our land use problems by focusing
only on the nine Bay Area counties, we will fail.

Michael CovarrubiasChairman & Co-CEO

As the Bay Area’s economy has grown over the last four decades, so too has its challenges—particularly related to transportation, housing, affordability and climate change. To plan for growth of 4 million more people in the next third of a century, TMG is thinking bigger, beyond our nine Bay Area counties, and working on longer term strategies to create greater connectivity across our entire megaregion.
Timing

It’s got to work at low tide as well as high tide.

Some of our best deals are the ones we didn’t do.

Matt FieldCo-CEO

Almost anyone can make money in a positive economic climate. But it takes discipline, depth of market knowledge and experience in all major product types to know when to buy and when to sell. The most profitable deals can be the ones you decide just don’t make sense or are outbid by an “out of town” competitor. Because we are active in our markets on a daily basis, TMG Partners has managed a portfolio through 40 years of market cycles that works in all phases and has withstood the sands of time.
Vision

huh?

Once it’s obvious, it’s too late.

Cathy GreenwoldSenior Advisor

If you wait for the statistical proof to confirm real estate opportunities, you’re looking backwards. TMG Partners has cultivated an approach to studying the business landscape that reveals market opportunities before they become obvious. Our contrarian investment strategy balances optimism and caution with the intent of turning forward-looking investments into no-brainers.
Returns

Redefining IRR

Our measure for success goes beyond profit.

Lynn TolinChief Operating Officer &
Executive Vice President

Most investment professionals have a clear understanding of IRR: Internal Rate of Return, a purely financial measurement of performance. At TMG we use a different definition. For us, IRR means balancing Integrity, Relationships and Results. We measure every aspect of our business through this lens to ensure our partners, communities, tenants and buyers are treated with the highest degree of respect and responsibility while we consistently deliver superior financial performance.
Think
Localism
Regionalism
Timing
Vision
Returns
Close

Close

 

News & Awards.

TMG Partners has won awards for many projects
including honors for “Best Mixed Use,”
“Best Office,” and “Best Historic Rehabilitation”.
In the News. Press Releases. Awards.
costar

TMG Partners and Bridges Capital closed on a deal this year to buy the Metreon entertainment center, one of a handful of iconic San Francisco properties the firm has been involved with. (CoStar)

CoStar
A co-CEO’s guide to spotting real estate value in San Francisco
Rachel Scheier

TMG Partners’ co-CEO Ben Kochalski joined the San Francisco firm back in 2019, at the height of the city's last tech boom. Now he is putting to use the lessons he learned then — and during the very different era that followed.

Before the pandemic, San Francisco skyscrapers changed hands at dizzying prices, and companies preleased entire buildings, sight unseen. That boom ended in 2020 as office workers left the city, along with tenants and investors. But ups and downs are not new to TMG, or San Francisco, which is once again zooming along aided by the rise of artificial intelligence.

The firm has in the past year linked itself to some of San Francisco’s best-known properties, from a downtown office building dating from just after the 1906 earthquake to one of the city’s best loved department stores. It’s driving the revamp of two major downtown shopping properties — including the Metreon, a four-story retail and entertainment center, and the beloved but ailing Macy’s Department Store in iconic Union Square.

Those investments are starting to pay off for the "hyperlocal" investment firm that's been operating here since the early 1980s and has developed or bought some 30 million square feet of office, residential and retail space.

Co-CEO Ben Kochalski joined TMG in 2019, at the end of San Francisco's last tech boom.

TMG has elevated new executives, including Kochalski, 45, who has been promoted twice in just over a year. He is now co-CEO alongside Michael Covarrubias, the company’s longtime chairman.

Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Kochalski started in the business as a project engineer in Chicago and came west to launch the Bay Area office of the John Buck Co. There he led boom-era projects like the downtown Park Tower skyscraper, where Facebook ultimately signed the biggest lease in San Francisco history for all 43 floors before construction had finished on the building.

He took part in the luxury waterfront condominium development One Steuart Lane, a project designed by renowned architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill that Forbes described as “among the most celebrated architecturally significant buildings on the West Coast,” before joining TMG the following year as a regional partner. The following conversation was edited for length.

What does the city's real estate picture look like compared to the last tech boom?  

As we’ve seen the city continue to be reborn and grow, you’re seeing a new generation of artificial intelligence companies thrive in San Francisco.

The last several years has primarily been about subleasing. There’s still a lot of challenges and availability as it relates to the vacancy picture, but a lot of the high-quality office space has now been leased. Now you are seeing pent up demand for the best space, and we’re getting back to a better functioning market.

Can you talk about how tenant requirements have evolved? How has the job of being a commercial landlord changed in the last few years? 

Landlords need to be able to provide tenants with a palette so they can paint their own picture for their space. It’s the tenant’s home, and we’re there to make sure they have the infrastructure and the ability to paint the picture they want.

Hospitality, across asset classes, has become very important as real estate has evolved.

TMG is involved with several properties that are seen as important to San Francisco’s past. What can you tell us about their future?

Over our 40 years, we have always been big believers in the Bay Area. Both Macy’s and the Metreon are part of the city’s front door for tourists and also for residents of the entire region. We saw those opportunities and really leaned in at a time that was difficult to do so. Our focus for both is to completely reposition and restore them to the important and significant real estate assets and experience centers they used to be for San Francisco. We’re going through the design and planning attributes now, so I can’t really talk about what they’ll become, but what once was iconic for the city will be iconic again.