RESIDENTIAL
The head of Irvine-based Fieldstone Communities LLC is stepping down, although his resignation has nothing to do with the slumping housing market, the builder said.
Frank Foster, president and chief executive of TFC Holdings LLC, Fieldstone’s parent company, is retiring at the end of the year, the company announced.
His position is not being filled by a direct replacement, according to the company. Instead, Fieldstone’s board of directors has created a three-person executive committee that will oversee operations.
The executive committee includes board members Peter Ochs, Keith Johnson and Kenneth Beall. Ochs and Johnson are cofounders of the homebuilder, which has been operating since the early 1980s and has built more than 23,000 homes.
The company builds in Southern California (but has no projects under way in Orange County), San Antonio and Utah.
Fieldstone ranks as the 27th largest private company in OC, based on revenue, according to the Business Journal’s most recent ranking in May. The company reported revenue of $405 million last year, down 33% from the prior year.
Foster told the company’s board about his intention to retire in 2006, which brought about the creation of the executive committee.
The cofounders “believed the most effective way to manage in these challenging times was by increasing our personal involvement,” Johnson said.
Foster joined Fieldstone in 1986 as OC project manager, served as OC regional manager and chief operating officer, and was named president in 2000 and chief executive in 2001.
Other notable departures at Fieldstone include Steve Cameron, formerly the company’s chief operating officer, who last year started up Newport Beach-based Foremost Communities Inc., a residential land development company.
Northridge Complex Opens
The development arm of Irvine-based apartment investor Western National Group has opened a 202-unit complex in Northridge.
The complex, Meridian Place Apartments, is built on about 2.5 acres and is within walking distance of California State University, Northridge.
Western National’s property management division will manage the complex, which was built by Western National Realty Advisors.
Rents start at $1,450 per month; apartments run from 655 square feet for one-bedroom units to 1,107 square feet for two-bedroom units.
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New Olson President
Irvine-based R.D. Olson Construction, a builder of resorts, hotels and restaurants, has hired J. Lofton Moore as its president.
Moore previously was the vice president of operations at Rudolph and Sletten Inc., a Redwood City-based construction company. Big projects he’s worked on include the $450 million patient tower at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
He’ll oversee all aspects of operations of the 175-person company, including oversight of operations, contract negotiations and marketing. Moore will report to Robert Olson, chief executive and founder of the $140 million company.
Moore is replacing Joe Kilar as president. Kilar joined Dubai-based Emaar Development to become the chief operations officer of King Abdullah, Economic City in Saudi Arabia.
Dunn Back in OC
Los Angeles-based brokerage Charles Dunn Co. has opened an office in Irvine.
The office, at the Knobbe Martens building at Main Plaza, counts seven workers in its advisory services group, which provides tenant representation services. Life science businesses are being targeted by the group, which is being headed up by managing director Greg Bendis.
The office also will include about five members of Charles Dunn’s property local management team, who had been based in Newport Beach.
Charles Dunn previously had brokerage operations in OC but exited the market about two years ago.
$8M Dog House
A 59,876-square-foot industrial building in Garden Grove has traded hands for $8 million, or about $134 per square foot.
The property is at 14271 Corporate Drive, near the Garden Grove (22) Freeway. The building is on 2.6 acres, and includes 17,500 square feet of office space. Pet care company Fins, Furs & Feathers Inc., is occupying the entire building, according to brokers.
Brad Christian of Colliers International Property Consultants Inc.’s Irvine office represented the buyer, Irvine-based KW Holdings LLC, which also owns the pet care company.
Mike Hartel of Voit Commercial Brokerage LP’s Irvine office, along with Mike Bouma and Trevor Pavone of Voit’s Anaheim Metro office, represented the seller, KIFLP LLC.
