The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday advanced an ordinance that would make the 48-story Transamerica Pyramid an official city landmark, setting up a final vote next week before the measure goes to Mayor Daniel Lurie, the San Francisco Standard reported. The designation is not official until that final vote and, if it passes, the mayor's action.
The ordinance would lock in 20 features, from the Pyramid's hollow spire to its redwood trees and concrete benches. Cyprus-based Yoda PLC paid about $691 million for the tower this year, the Standard reported.
Landmark status can open the door to a property-tax reduction under the state's Mills Act if the owner signs a contract with the city agreeing to maintain and preserve the building. San Francisco caps eligibility for commercial buildings assessed at $5 million or less, but an owner can ask the Board of Supervisors for an exemption. Under the Mills Act, a building is taxed on the rent it earns rather than what it sold for, and the owner pays whichever bill is lower. The Standard published a rough estimate that a tax break for a tower that changed hands at that price could potentially trim the annual bill by millions of dollars, while cautioning that the math is redone annually. No such contract has been approved in this account.