The Bay Reach Story
Founded by Curtis Sakai in 2012, Bay Reach Homes is an East Bay real estate development company striving to strengthen our Bay Area community through quality home renovation.
With a vision and an eye for design, Curtis began purchasing and rejuvenating homes with good “bones” but were regarded as difficult or problematic by others. His vision has resulted in helping sellers get their value out of their home, numerous successful renovations and enhanced neighborhoods throughout the region.
It started with his own home
Curtis first worked with his architects, Ogawa Fisher, on the remodel of his own home.
From their first meeting, the team and Curtis clicked because of their shared vision and sensibilities. Remodeling his home sparked his interest in the local residential real estate market and gave him a desire for a new approach to home and community development.
Each Bay Reach Homes project has unique challenges. Our goal is to keep a fresh approach in re-working a home’s flow for today’s families, while maintaining the integrity and history of each property.
Bay Reach Homes Studio
Meet the Team
Curtis Sakai
President / Owner
Curtis is a long time Berkeley resident and Cal Alum who worked for many years in the vibrant Bay Area Bio-Pharmaceutical industry. His early career was spent in research and the development of life-changing drugs and tools to analyze disease. Later he transitioned out of the lab and into operations. As head of operations for some prominent Bay Area companies, he developed a keen eye for working with a budget and schedule to drive large projects to completion. After the experience of remodeling his own residence, he made the big life change to focus on purchasing local homes and restoring them to their former character while at the same time, uplifting neighborhoods.
Curtis raised his kids in Berkeley, where he still resides with his wife Sharon. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, cooking, working out, and his current passion—golf.
Nishi Wise
Office Manager
Nishi Wise was originally hired at Bay Reach Homes as the bookkeeper, but her position has evolved into taking care of all aspects of the business. She recently received her real estate agent license and plays an integral role in finding us the next great house to purchase. She was born and raised in Berkeley along with her husband, is busy raising her two sons here as well.
Lanny Udell
Marketing Consultant
Lanny came on board during the summer of the pandemic to help Bay Reach Homes with their marketing efforts. A content strategist and SEO copywriter, she launched the company’s email newsletter and led the makeover of its website, helping to tell the unique Bay Reach story to its various audiences. Having previously earned a real estate license, Lanny brings an understanding of the business to her work with Bay Reach Homes.
Collaborators
Lynn Fisher
Architect
Lynn has worked on all Bay Reach Homes projects, starting with the remodel of Curtis’s Berkeley residence. She received her M.Arch. from Rice University and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Stanford University. Lynn believes design should be fun, smart, sustainable and resilient.
Lynn and Curtis have a great working relationship and are a simpatico force in design, taste and good food. She is an invaluable collaborator on our remodels, and we look forward to a continuing relationship with her.
Craig Smith
General Contractor
Bay Reach’s general contractor is a Berkeley resident (also an old friend of Curtis) and has worked on some of the finer Bay Area homes for over 30 years. The experience he brings to each project is invaluable and has helped Bay Reach Homes maintain its high standard. Through this team’s collaboration on several projects, a set of best practices has been developed that allows them to work efficiently, deliver beautiful homes with character and make the selling process easier for their clients.