The Oakland Athletics have hired Lydia Tan as Managing Director – Real Estate, the Club announced today. Tan will work alongside A’s President Dave Kaval to build the team’s Howard Terminal ballpark at Jack London Square and redevelop the Oakland Coliseum site. She will be responsible for establishing the vision for the ancillary developments and its interrelation to the ballpark. Tan’s first day with the Club will be April 16.

“We are committed to building a world-class real estate team, one that reflects Oakland and the A’s values of diversity and inclusion,” said Oakland A’s President Dave Kaval. “Lydia is a real estate veteran with extensive residential, mixed use, and affordable housing experience. Her vast knowledge of development, acquisition, architecture, and planning makes her the ideal person to lead our development activities at Howard Terminal and the Oakland Coliseum.”

“I am thrilled by this opportunity to be back in Oakland, where I first started my career as a fledgling architect, and have since been involved in its transformation over the span of my career,” said Tan. “Oakland and the A’s have such a rich history together, and I am moved by the A’s commitment to be a partner in building toward Oakland’s bright future. I look forward to working with the team and community to create truly amazing places at the Coliseum and Howard Terminal – places that embody the best practices of today and celebrate Oakland’s unique place in the Bay Area.”

Before joining the A’s, Tan was Senior Vice President and U.S. Head of Development at Bentall Kennedy, one of North America’s largest real estate investment advisors. During her tenure, the company invested in the development of more than $3 billion of mixed-use commercial, multi-family, and logistics projects throughout the U.S.

Tan has additional experience as Executive Vice President and Director of Northern California Operations at Related California, where she opened the office and built up a $2 billion pipeline of affordable and mixed income, mixed use developments throughout the Bay Area. Her work included successful partnerships with Oakland based non-profit EBALDC, the Oakland Housing Authority and Acts Full Gospel Church on community redevelopment projects in East Oakland. 

She was also the Executive Vice President at BRIDGE Housing Corporation, where she led teams focused on all aspects of the development and financing of mixed income and affordable housing communities, as well as large scale redevelopment efforts throughout California, including Chestnut Linden, Mandela Gateway and Central Station in West Oakland, MacArthur BART, and St. Josephs in East Oakland. During her tenure at BRIDGE, she oversaw the development of $3.5 billion of affordable and mixed income housing, pedestrian-oriented commercial space, and community facilities.

Throughout her work and volunteer career, Tan has worked with nonprofits and local organizations to effect positive change focused on raising the quality of life and increasing opportunity in lower income communities. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the S.H. Cowell Foundation; SPUR; and Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco. She is a former longtime volunteer at EBALDC, serving on its Board of Directors and its Real Estate Committee. She is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, and the Stanford Real Estate Council. Tan and her husband are Resident Fellows at Stanford University, where they work to create an enriched residential experience for 270 undergraduate students.

Tan holds a BA in Architecture from University of California, Berkeley and a MBA from Stanford University. She is a Registered Architect in California.