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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sania Kayani serves as a Commercial Property Manager at Century | Urban, where she oversees a wide range of responsibilities aimed at optimizing the efficiency and profitability of properties under management. Her multifaceted role includes supervising day-to-day operations, fostering positive relationships with clients, tenants, and vendors, and developing and managing service contracts. Sania ensures timely responses to tenant maintenance requests and oversees vendor performance and project management.

Under her supervision, regular property inspections are conducted to uphold class A standards, with recommendations for maintenance and improvements provided as needed. Sania works closely with leasing teams to achieve leasing and marketing objectives and actively cultivates business relationships through professional affiliations. Additionally, she manages financial operations, including budgeting, expense management, and rent collection, to maximize profitability and ensure compliance with lease terms.

With a solid foundation in third-party property management gained at Orchard Commercial, Sania managed diverse building projects, honing her skills in overseeing day-to-day operations, developing service contracts, and fostering positive client, tenant, and vendor relationships. Her prior role in residential property management with Irvine Company provided her with invaluable customer service skills. There, she learned the importance of clear communication and responsiveness in addressing tenant needs and concerns.

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.