Leadership

Bryant Sparkman is the President & Managing Principal at Century | Urban. Bryant provides strategic real estate investment and advisory services to third-party clients, including economic analysis, transaction structuring, establishment of public-private-partnerships, and acquisition-related services to enhance and preserve long-term generational value for Century | Urban clients.

Bryant’s experience spans advisory, development, and institutional asset management experience across a wide range of property types. His expertise includes office buildings, industrial buildings, market-rate apartments, affordable housing, full-service hotels, and large-scale mixed-use projects, such as the landmark Hotel and Residences at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. Prior to founding Century | Urban, Bryant served as Vice President of Investments in the urban investment group of MacFarlane Partners. In this role he originated investments, oversaw multiple development and redevelopment projects, and played a key role in deploying $500 million of equity capital for acquisitions and ground-up development projects. Bryant collaborated with leading real estate operating and development companies, including Related Companies, TMG Partners, Forest City Enterprises and Anschutz Entertainment Group.

Bryant is actively involved in the San Francisco community and serves on the board of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

Leo Ma leads real estate advisory engagements for Century | Urban, assisting both public and private clients. These include the Port of San Francisco and the City and County of San Francisco on projects such as the 3-million-square-foot Pier 70 Waterfront Site development, and the City of Oakland on projects such as the 3,000-unit, 1.5-million-square-foot Waterfront Ballpark District development.

Before joining Century | Urban, Leo served as Chief Financial Officer for Waypoint Homes, a leader in the emerging industry of single-family rental housing. Leo also served as Executive Vice President, Investments of Kenwood Investments contributing to projects such as the master-planned redevelopment of a 400-acre former naval base on San Francisco’s Treasure Island. Prior to Kenwood, Leo was Vice President, Investments for MacFarlane Partners, where he underwrote and managed investments in projects exceeding $3 billion in development costs. Additionally, he served as Associate Vice President, Finance at Catellus Development, where he worked on large-scale, master-planned projects such as the 303-acre Mission Bay project in San Francisco. Throughout his career, Leo has played a pivotal role in acquiring, developing, and managing billions of dollars in real estate assets.

Griselda Blackburn primarily serves Century | Urban’s public agency clients, including the City of San Jose, City & County of San Francisco, the City of Oakland, and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. In addition, Griselda advises several affordable housing funds that provide pre-development loans and permanent financing to affordable and workforce housing projects within California. Her expertise lies in economic analysis and residential development underwriting, including affordable housing and mixed-income projects. She recently advised the City of Oakland on the Waterfront Ballpark District project, evaluating project feasibility, estimating fiscal impacts of the proposed development, analyzing public financing strategies, and assisting the City of Oakland with calibrating community benefits, including a substantial affordable housing proposal.

Griselda previously served as Vice President and Assistant Portfolio Manager for BlackRock, Inc. Her responsibilities included developing the fund investment strategy, authoring private placement memoranda and performing initial underwriting. Griselda also served as a Vice President for Montague DeRose, a public finance advisory firm serving the State of California and various Bay Area municipal issuers.

Jon Knorpp is responsible for providing development advisory services to Century | Urban clients. These include UC Law San Francisco, where he advises on the seismic retrofit and renovation of a historic tower at 100 McAllister. He also oversees tenant and capital improvements for Century | Urban managed buildings.

Jon has worked with leading development firms in the Bay Area over the past 38 years, including Wilson Meany Sullivan and the Emerald Fund, specializing in the design, entitlement and ground-up development of Bay Area commercial, residential and mixed-use projects. Jon recently spearheaded entitlement and development for Mission Rock, a 28-acre mixed-use master plan adjacent to Oracle Park in San Francisco. He oversaw the development of the Giants’ South American, Spring Training, and Player Development facilities and managed ongoing enhancements to Oracle Park. Additionally, Jon orchestrated the design, development, and construction of iconic historic assets such as the world-renowned Ferry Building, One Powell and 140 New Montgomery. Additionally, he spearheaded initial entitlement work on Bay Meadows and steered third-party asset repositioning initiatives for prominent banking and equity clients of Wilson Meany Sullivan. As a Founding Senior Partner at Wilson Meany Sullivan, Jon made significant contributions to the firm’s success.

Rebecca Barnes is responsible for leading and supervising day-to-day business operations for Century | Urban managed properties. She plays an integral role as a leading member of the asset and property management teams, focused on 160 West Santa Clara Street in downtown San Jose, California. In addition, Rebecca manages capital improvement projects, assists with marketing and leasing, and collaborates closely with building vendors, architects and contractors to drive projects toward successful outcomes.

Rebecca has over 20 years of experience in asset management, property management, leasing, project management, acquisitions and dispositions spanning 6 submarkets in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her experience covers Class A office, retail, industrial, flex, warehouse and R&D, and public buildings. She previously served as a Senior Asset Manager for Kilroy Realty where she was responsible for overseeing a Class A office portfolio of 2 million square feet located in Silicon Valley. Prior to that, she was the Director of Commercial Properties for The McLellan Company with asset management responsibilities for a 1.5 million square foot commercial portfolio in the Western U.S. including Northern California, Southern California, Oregon, Washington, Utah and Idaho.

Jake Kraft serves as a special advisor to Century | Urban, assisting public and private clients on economic feasibility, underwriting and transaction structuring.

Jake brings extensive experience in valuations, operations and management, acquisitions and dispositions, capital markets and fund raising, investment structuring, micro- and macro-economic research, and joint venture negotiation. He is a Managing Partner at Battery Alexander Realty Capital, Inc., a national real estate investment platform focused on middle-market real estate debt and equity. Previously, Jake served as a Senior Vice President at Bristol Group Inc., a prominent San Francisco-based national real estate investment and development firm. Prior to joining Bristol, Jake operated his own real estate consulting firm, catering to receivers, private equity firms, and asset management firms.

Jake’s expertise extends beyond leadership and transactional responsibilities; he possesses firsthand experience in fundraising, development, and the execution of business plans. His track record includes evaluating and implementing investment strategies in new markets, as well as overseeing the acquisition, management, and disposition of land and office buildings.

Cameron Sardi provides comprehensive analytical and consulting support to the firm’s advisory clients. His responsibilities include complex financial modeling of ground-up vertical and horizontal development projects, ensuring projections of project and joint venture returns. Additionally, he conducts market research, portfolio valuation, deal structuring, and project management. Cameron also leads acquisition efforts for Century | Urban’s private family clients, including deal sourcing, asset underwriting, and management of physical due diligence. Furthermore, Cameron provides asset management support for Century | Urban’s existing commercial portfolio. His duties include internal financial reporting, long term capital planning, capital project management, and asset leasing.

Prior to joining Century | Urban, Cameron worked as a valuation advisor at The Property Sciences Group, Inc. as a Commercial Real Estate Analyst, providing financial analyses, valuations, and written appraisal reports on select commercial real estate assets for clients that included lenders, private parties, and government agencies.

Priyanka Kakoti is responsible for performing analytical, advisory and asset management functions for Century | Urban. Her primary responsibilities include assisting in underwriting, and conducting market research and analysis to evaluate a project’s economic feasibility. Priyanka conducts asset level due diligence, market research, and analysis. As the owner’s representative, she oversees asset management tasks and supervises tenant improvement projects, coordinating with property managers, architects, contractors and maintaining budgets.

Prior to joining Century | Urban, Priyanka worked as an Architect in the Advisory Division at Feedback Infra (P) Ltd., working on economic analyses and performing feasibility studies for both public and private clients. These include Dadri Multi Modal Logistics Park in Dadri, Indian Waterway Terminal in Varanasi, Dhaka Railway Hospital, Dr. Ayres de Menezes Hospital in Sao Tome e Principe, and re-development and monetization of Hotel Ashok in Delhi. Priyanka also worked as Project architect at Eastern Design Studio in India, leading teams responsible for executing architectural and master planning responsibilities on condominiums, boutique hotels, and mixed-use projects.

Brandon Ciarlo serves as a Commercial Property Manager at Century | Urban, responsible for overseeing the efficient operation of commercial office buildings in the Bay Area. His primary focus is managing a Class-A high-rise asset in Downtown San Jose, California. His role includes maintaining tenant and vendor relationships, managing tenant improvement projects, and handling day-to-day building operations.

Brandon works closely with leasing teams and building ownership to achieve both leasing and marketing objectives, while actively cultivating business relationships through professional affiliations. Brandon also provides ongoing maintenance and improvement recommendations to maximize profitability and tenant satisfaction. Additionally, he oversees financial operations of these assets, including CAM reconciliation, budgeting, and the accounts payable/receivable process.

Prior to joining Century | Urban, Brandon spent nine years in hospitality and hotel operations. He played a key role managing luxury hotels in Los Gatos and Palo Alto, honing his expertise in business operations and customer service. Brandon also served in a management capacity at the Social Services Agency of Santa Clara County.

Chandra Jayanthi is the Controller at Century | Urban, managing and overseeing accounting operations and reporting for both advisory and asset management activities.

Chandra is responsible for AP and AR cycles and financial reporting on varied digital platforms, providing critical information for cash flow management, decision support and cost accounting. She has designed and implemented cost analysis reporting systems aimed at monitoring the underlying cost structure and cost-volume-profit analysis. These systems provide decision support for Inventory and Cash Management. Prior to joining Century |Urban, Chandra worked as a software Application Engineer at QRS Corporation, now part of GXS a B2B service provider.

Stephen Boro supports a range of analytical, advisory, and asset management duties at Century | Urban. His responsibilities include supporting underwriting efforts, acquisitions, conducting market research, and strategic analysis to assess the economic viability of projects on advisory engagements.  Stephen also performs asset-level due diligence, economic analysis, and market evaluations for acquisitions on behalf of the firm’s corporate and private family clients.  Stephen supports the asset management of Century | Urban’s existing commercial portfolio with 450 Sansome and 200 California Street. His responsibilities include preparing internal financial reports, overseeing capital improvement projects, and managing leasing activities.

Cherise Gibbs serves as a commercial Property Manager at Century | Urban, overseeing downtown San Francisco commercial office and industrial buildings.  Her primary focus is managing Class A office towers in the Financial District, in addition to select midrise office and industrial buildings throughout the City of San Francisco. Cherise has significant experience with capital and tenant improvement project management, and is able to provide ongoing maintenance, and recommendations to maximize operating cash flow while maintaining tenant satisfaction. Cherise oversees the financial operations of these assets, along with a team of Assistant Property Managers, which include budgeting, expense reconciliations, and accounts payable and receivable processes.

Prior to joining Century | Urban, Cherise oversaw industrial, life science and office properties on the Peninsula and in the East Bay.   Her experience includes ground up development, construction project management, property management, and leasing oversight.  Cherise served as a Senior Real Estate Manager at CBRE with responsibility of a 2.6-million square foot portfolio along the I-800 Corridor of the East Bay, and formerly worked at RREEF/Deutsch Wealth Management, managing and leasing one million square feet of R&D, flex, and industrial assets.

Areas of Specialization

Property Management
• Leader in fostering positive vendor and tenant relationships, managing assets in an institutional quality manner, and ensuring optimization of operating cash flow.
• Consistently prepares detail oriented financial reporting to ensure compliance and cost-saving opportunities.

Project Management
• Proven track record to manage timelines, budgets, and quality control, ensuring that all aspects of projects align with owner goals and objectives.
• Procures and engages in negotiations for competitive and high-quality bids for repairs and capital improvements.

Roshani Dabadi serves as a Property Accountant at Century | Urban, supporting a range of property accounting functions.  Roshani’s primary responsibilities include preparation of monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements along with supporting schedules and financial reports. She processes and tracks accounts receivable and  accounts payable via Yardi for assigned properties and assists in the preparation and review of the operating revenue and expense budgets.  Roshani acts as a point of contact for clients, resolving questions related to accounts receivable and accounts payable.

Prior to joining Century | Urban, Roshani was a Tax Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers researching tax laws, regulations, and prepared state return workpapers for asset management and corporations, ensuring compliance.  She also contributed to year-end audits for public corporations, improving the accuracy of income tax provisions.  While at San Francisco State University, Roshani was the also Vice President of Professional Development for the Accounting Student Organization.

• Ensure rents are collected and expenses are paid in compliance with lease terms.
• Coordinate tenant invoicing through the billable work order system.
• Coordinate tenant invoicing for building tenant authorizations, and other related charges.
• Prepare monthly security deposit, letters of credit, accounts receivable, mortgage payables and other account reconciliations.
• Review tenant rent and common area maintenance (CAM) recovery charges to ensure accuracy.
• Perform day- to-day requests as directed by the Director of Operations, Controller, and Property Managers.

Elena Merkulenkova serves as an Assistant Property Manager at Century | Urban, overseeing San Francisco commercial office and special purpose assets.  Elena’s primary focus is managing Class A office towers throughout the City of San Francisco. She has significant experience overseeing maintenance and operations teams.  Elena is a dependable partner adept at supporting senior management during portfolio-wide acquisitions and dispositions, consistently leading personnel with a focus on customer service and team cohesion. She is a relationship builder skilled at cultivating long-term connections with tenants and partners while leveraging a hands-on approach to optimize property performance and stakeholder satisfaction.

Prior to joining Century | Urban, Elena was an Assistant Operations Manager at Shorenstein Realty Services, and developed, implemented, and delivered nationwide training programs for property management staff and newly acquired properties, focusing on operational policies, procedures, and system knowledge to effectively bolster team proficiency.    Elena also led system implementations and updates, including the testing and deployment of Yardi Voyager, MRI Angus, and Cornerstone systems, driving operational efficiency and improved functionality.

• Leader in fostering positive vendor and tenant relationships, managing assets in an institutional quality manner, and ensuring optimization of operating cash flow.
• Consistently prepares detail oriented financial reporting to ensure compliance and cost-saving opportunities.
• Facilitates seamless transitions and integration while adhering to corporate standards for operational excellence.
• Streamlined property transitions by managing service contract conversions for newly acquired properties, offering high-quality contract management assistance to align with company expectations.
• Supported the creation and management of annual budgets for newly acquired and existing properties.