William “Bill” Halford, who left as head of The Irvine Company’s growing office empire last week, has a new venture in the works where he’ll have a leading role and likely a financial stake.
Halford won’t be taking the wraps off the business for a month or two, he said.
“It will allow me to build on what I’ve done” at the Irvine Co., he said. “And I’ll be able to act as a principal.”
Headed Irvine Co. Office Unit
Halford, 46, left as president of the Newport Beach-based company’s office division last week to “pursue other business opportunities,” the Irvine Co. said.
He had been with the Irvine Co. since 1994 and office president since 2001.
The Irvine Co.’s office division is on a strong comeback from the early 2000 downturn.
And it’s expanding with the recent purchase of two office complexes near John Wayne Airport and reports of deals in San Diego.
The office division grew about four-fold since Halford took over. The unit now has roughly 350 people and owns and manages more than 400 office buildings,a portfolio dwarfing that of many real estate investment trusts.
Most of the buildings are in Orange County with others in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and San Diego.
“We had built what I believe was the best office team in the real estate business,” Halford said. “Personally, though, the company had grown so large that my role had changed. It had moved to more of an administrator’s role for a large business. And that’s not what I really wanted to do.”
Halford said he left on good terms.
“I have a huge amount of respect for the company, and for Donald Bren in particular,” Halford said. “Without a question he has one of the brightest minds of anyone I know. The man is brilliant.”
Bren is chairman and owner of the Irvine Co.
“The company is very thankful for the leadership (Halford) provided,” spokeswoman Jennifer Hieger said.
Halford has had a big presence locally.
Clarence Barker, president of the company’s investment property group and Halford’s old boss, is taking over his duties for now.
Barker also oversees the company’s apartment, retail and resort divisions, each of which has its own president.
A timeline for finding a full-time replacement hasn’t been determined. The company has hired from within and from outside in the past.
Halford took over the top office spot at a time when things weren’t so good for landlords.
His first years as president were spent cutting rents, filling empty space and working with tenants to renew leases.
In 2004, as the rebound began to take hold, the division invested $45 million on upgrades to 30 office buildings. The makeover was part of $240 million in spending on local offices, apartments, hotels and shopping centers.
The company expanded outside OC under Halford’s watch. In 2000, it paid $350 million for Century City’s Fox Plaza. In 2003, the company paid $134 million for a pair of San Diego high-rises.
The Irvine Co. is believed to be in escrow on another pair of San Diego office buildings, including the city’s premier office property, One America Plaza, for more than $430 million.
Locally, the company scored a coup when it signed on Broadcom Corp. in early 2005 to anchor University Research Park at the University of California, Irvine. The Irvine Co. is putting up 800,000 square feet of space for the chipmaker.
In the past few weeks, the company finalized its buys of Irvine Center Towers and Newport Gateway Center. Estimates are the complexes sold for about $550 million.
In addition, office projects are in the works, including a pair of buildings going up in the Irvine Spectrum. Another building is planned for Irvine Center Towers.
