51.5 F
Laguna Hills
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
-Advertisement-

OCBJ INSIDER

While this issue’s Commercial Development Special Report (starting page 21) highlights the area’s batch of just-built and under-construction projects, there’s still plenty of news coming from a handful of OC buildings just a bit older.

Last month, we broke the news on local law giant Rutan & Tucker’s plans to move its headquarters to the 1-year-old The Boardwalk complex in Irvine, and this week comes news of fast-growing Tricon American Homes grabbing a bulk of the space at Tustin’s redeveloped 33.7 North building, recently sold and renamed AIRspace (see story, this page).

Lido House in Newport Beach still looks brand-new, and Bob Olson showed off the boutique hotel last Thursday night with a no-expenses-spared event celebrating its first anniversary.

Aloe Blacc (who grew up in Laguna Hills, and these days usually plays much larger venues) was the evening’s musical act. The guest list included a “Who’s Who” of area business execs such as Jeff Moorad, Joe Ueberroth, Bill Lyon, Ralph Grippo and David Pyle, among others. The event was also attended by politicians, and a few local celebs too.

Olson is our paper’s reigning Businessperson of the Year, but given the shout-outs he made on stage Thursday night to family members who currently (or might yet) work with him at R.D. Olson Development, you get the sense he might more appreciate being honored at one of our future Family-Owned Business Awards, the 20th edition of which was held last Tuesday at Hotel Irvine.

Twenty years means 100 area businesses have been feted during the lifetime of the event, one of our more eclectic annual award ceremonies, given the breadth of industries we’ve highlighted over the years.

That was reflected again last week. Winners included a computer tablet maker, a cosmetic surgery center, a tile and stone retailer, a marketing company and a hospitality firm: they’ll be profiled in next week’s edition.

Business Journal Publisher Richard Reisman describes the variety of OC businesses that make the region’s economy hum as a “beautiful symphony,” and marks a sharp contrast to the one-note tech focus of Silicon Valley.

There’s nothing wrong with having a world-class trumpet player in our backyard, though; the Insider is hearing increasing whispers of one of Silicon Valley’s biggest names prepping to set up a large outpost in the area. Stay tuned.

Two of OC’s premier retail development firms, Shaheen Sadeghi’s LAB Holding LLC and Scott Burnham and Bryon Ward’s Burnham Ward Properties, each have notable food-driven area projects in the works, including The Press in Costa Mesa, and the Dana Point Harbor redevelopment.

They’ll have a hard time topping themselves in terms of accolades for tenants at their upcoming projects. Michelin stars were recently awarded to two OC restaurants: Chef Carlos Salgado’s Taco María (at Burnham-Ward’s SOCO) and Chef Atsushi Yokoyama’s Hana re (at Sadeghi’s The LAB Anti-Mall), both in Costa Mesa.

Want more from the best local business newspaper in the country?

Sign-up for our FREE Daily eNews update to get the latest Orange County news delivered right to your inbox!

Previous article
Next article
Mark Mueller
Mark Mueller
Mark is the Editor-in-Chief of the Orange County Business Journal, one of the premier regional business newspapers in the country. He’s the fifth person to hold the editor’s position in the paper’s long history. He oversees a staff of about 15 people. The OCBJ is considered a must-read for area business executives. The print edition of the paper is the primary source of local news for most of the Business Journal’s subscribers, which includes most of OC’s major corporate and community players. Mark’s been with the paper since 2005, and long served as the real estate reporter for the paper, breaking hundreds of commercial and residential real estate stories. He took on the editor’s position in 2018.
-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-