Our Team

Adam G. Engelskirchen is President of the Capiterra Group, Inc. He is a development advisor, real estate lawyer and commercial broker with particular expertise in leasing (including complex ground leases), historic buildings and the disposition of public agency real estate assets.

 

Formerly Director of Real Estate for The Presidio Trust, he led the Trust’s efforts to generate revenue from the Presidio’s six million square feet of buildings.  He and his team handled the redevelopment, historic rehabilitation, leasing and management of the Presidio’s commercial and residential portfolio, which includes more than 1,100 residential units, as well as office buildings, warehouses and other structures ranging from barracks to churches.  During his tenure, the Presidio Trust entered into more than 300 leases, licenses and development agreements, valued at more than $1.3 billion.  Today, the Presidio Trust is financially self-sufficient and receives no federal appropriations.

Adam has extensive experience with public-private partnerships.  He was one of the negotiators of a long-term ground lease and development agreement with Lucasfilm to build a digital entertainment complex in the Presidio, a project that was named “Deal of the Year” by the San Francisco Business Times.

 

Recent projects include negotiation of a long-term ground lease for an acre-sized San Francisco site for City College of San Francisco; representation of the San Francisco Department of Recreation & Parks on a project involving the iconic Palace of Fine Arts; a historic tax credit project with Forest City Development to ground lease and convert a 300,000 square foot historic hospital to multifamily residential use; the rehabilitation of historic hangar buildings for recreational tenants, including a rock climbing gym and a children’s swimming school; and the rehabilitation of historic nurse’s quarters and cavalry barracks buildings for office use. Many of these projects received LEED ratings. 

 

Prior to joining the Presidio Trust, Adam practiced as a real estate attorney with the law firm of Sidley & Austin. He holds a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College and a J.D. from the University of Southern California Law Center, where he was Senior Editor of the Interdisciplinary Law Journal.  He is licensed in California as an attorney and real estate broker. 

 

His affiliations include the Urban Land Institute (member, San Francisco District Council), Lambda Alpha International (an honorary land economics society).

 

A long-time open water swimmer, he has completed a solo crossing of the English Channel and multiple swims in the San Francisco Bay, including Alcatraz.