Other news items of interest from the Orange County Business Journal
Irvine-based First PacTrust Bancorp Inc. named corporate finance veteran Ronald Nicolas as its chief financial officer. It also named Lonny Robinson, formerly chief financial officer of Hanmi Financial Corp. in Los Angeles, as financial chief at its subsidiary PacTrust Bank. Craig Naselow, a former treasurer and investment executive of Westlake Village-based Aris Development Co., was tapped as treasurer and chief investment officer of First PacTrust and PacTrust Bank.
Shuttered Saddleback Inn in Santa Ana was demolished following a city order to “repair or abate … unlawful conditions” at the site. The fate of other vacant buildings near the hotel remains unclear.
An environmental coalition filed suit in Superior Court in Santa Ana to halt a planned 65-home Saddle Crest development in Trabuco Canyon. Plaintiffs contend the Orange County Board of Supervisors approved the development improperly, in part because its projected effect on area traffic wasn’t disclosed in an environmental impact report.
Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. announced Department of Housing and Urban Development approval for up to $460 million in HUD-insured loans. The Foothill Ranch-based company said it hadn’t decided how much to borrow.
The construction industry will add 2,900 local jobs in Orange County next year and 7,000 in 2014, according to projections by economists at California State University, Fullerton. OC will lose about 1,500 construction jobs this year, capping a six-year industry slump.
Villa Rockledge, an oceanfront residential compound in Laguna Beach, has been listed for auction in December. The property, once priced at $34.5 million, has been listed by sellers Roger Jones and Sherill Bottjer with an opening bid of $10.5 million.
Irvine-based Tech Coast Angels was the most active angel-investment group in U.S. in the first half, according to a report from Silicon Valley Bank, Angel Resource Institute and CB Insights. The 300-member organization invested $4.6 million in 18 startups through June. The group added five more deals in the third quarter valued at combined $1 million.
Visitor counts at Walt Disney Co.’s theme parks in Anaheim were up “substantially” in the third quarter, compared with “modest” gains in Florida, the company said. Disney doesn’t offer specific breakdowns for the two markets or overall visitor counts.
Santa Ana planners confirmed the city remains on track with a long-discussed plan to add 3.2 miles of trolleys to connect sports, entertainment and convention facilities. About half of the funding is expected to come from federal grants, while local tax measures are expected to provide another big chunk.
Irvine Company Chairman Donald Bren was ranked No. 71 on a list of the world’s wealthiest individuals released by Bloomberg Markets, with an estimated net worth of $12.8 billion. The Business Journal estimated Bren’s wealth at $13 billion in our annual OC’s Wealthiest issue in August. He was the lone OC representative on Bloomberg’s list, which includes 200 entries and has a cutoff of $5.8 billion. The list was topped by investor Carlos Slim of Mexico, at $77.5 billion.
OC accounted for 17 of the top 500 U.S. zip codes by median home price on a list compiled by Forbes magazine. OC’s share of the list came to 3.4%, about triple its share of the national population. The 92657 zip code in Newport Coast was top ranked for OC and No. 25 nationally, with a median price of $2.98 million. The top zip code on the list overall was 10065 in New York, with a median price of $6.53 million.
Federal law-enforcement officials detained 12 employees of San Clemente-based R&R Industries, who were found to be “working without authorization.” R&R supplies hard hats and other safety apparel to construction companies. Ten other employees were detained on similar grounds before their release on humanitarian grounds. Details of the investigation were unavailable.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
UP: Sales of OC businesses in October, when 168 changed hands, a 27% jump from a year earlier, according to BizBen.com. Business sales rose about 7% statewide last month.
