Developer Brandon Birtcher used to spend considerable time lining up money for his projects; that’s not an issue any more. His Irvine-based Birtcher Development & Investments hooked up last month with Australian property giant Goodman Group to build industrial and logistics properties across North America, and last week Goodman announced a deal with a Canadian pension fund that will contribute $890 million in equity to the venture. The funding should make Birtcher, whose family has been a presence in OC’s real estate industry since 1911, among the country’s busiest industrial developers over the next few years. Birtcher, who is heading up Goodman Group’s North American operations out of Irvine, said he’s happy to be turning his attention away from money-raising matters but notes he still has his hands full getting the organizational side of the new business ramped up …
This wouldn’t happen in Irvine: Some residents of a homeowners association on the more-exclusive side of the Holmby Hills enclave of L.A. are reportedly so hopping mad over a prevalence of potholes on their streets that they want to cut ties with the megalopolis and become part of neighboring Beverly Hills. The Insider doesn’t know how Irvine Company Chairman Donald Bren—who has a part-time place in Holmby Hills—views the matter. We do know it’s unlikely any such problem with street surfaces would surface anywhere in OC on his watch …
It’s likely that Bren—known to be a student of history—has a special appreciation for Holmby Hills, which was developed in the 1920s by the Janss Investment Co., which billed it as “the ultimate in real estate development” …
Take it from The Insider: The early outlook for the first annual San Juan Capistrano Rodeo Week is good. That’s based on a recent trip to the rodeo at the OC Fair, where a top cowboy from San Juan Capistrano rode herd in the ring with authority. South County will get a taste of cow town when its annual event starts on Aug. 18, with the 12th edition of Tony Moiso’s annual Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo set to highlight the run on Aug. 25 and 26. Purses for the competitors will top $200,000 in what’s billed as the “richest two-day rodeo in the nation.” A posse of 30 or more acclaimed cowpokes are expected, with slots at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas on the line. The event has raised more than $1 million for charity, too …
Orange County has a main role in a new movie said to be on the development slate of Amazon Studios, the Los Angeles-based creative content arm of Seattle-based retailer Amazon.com Inc. Orange Curtain centers on OC gun runners who find themselves trapped in South L.A. on the eve of the 1992 riots. The script was penned by Fullerton native Jason Stentz and Robert Moreno. Amazon Studios has been looking to tap into Southern California’s creative potential by soliciting scripts to produce original content for its streaming video service …
The opening of Cars Land at The Disneyland Resort has Anaheim convention officials buzzing about rising visitor attendance in and around their city (see our Meetings and Conventions Special Report, page 21), but OC still has room for improvement. Anaheim ranks as the No. 31 city in the country for meetings and conventions, according to a new report by McLean, Va.-based event management firm Cvent. Newport Beach is No. 46 in the survey, which gives Orlando the No. 1 spot.
