The Irvine Company’s expected hiring of former Maguire Properties Inc. executive Richard Gilchrist as head of its office unit could signal some shifts for the company.
Industry watchers said the anticipated appointment of Gilchrist, former co-chief executive of publicly traded Maguire, is a sign that Orange County’s largest landlord wants a strong administrative type running the unit, which is expected to push its ambitious development and acquisition plans.
The move also could mean that the Newport Beach-based company might become a larger player in the downtown Los Angeles market,where Maguire has most of its trophy office buildings.
“It’s clear that there’s more to the (Irvine Co.’s) office division now than leasing,” said Kevin Bender, senior vice president for the Newport Beach-based office of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.
The Irvine Co. has shown more interest in buying and developing office buildings of late, Bender said.
Gilchrist should help the Irvine Co. on those fronts, he said.
“He has tremendous experience in buying and developing these types of high-quality assets and running a class A organization,” Bender said.
The Irvine Co. has not confirmed that Gilchrist has been hired to fill former office chief William “Bill” Halford’s shoes. The company said he is a consultant for the Irvine Co. Several real estate sources confirmed the hire.
Halford left the Irvine Co. earlier this year to take over the top spot at Newport Beach-based developer Bixby Land Co. Before taking the Bixby job, Halford had been rumored to be Gilchrist’s replacement at Maguire.
Gilchrist has developed strong relationships with large Southern California tenants, said Greg May, senior vice president for the Newport Beach office of Grubb & Ellis Co. May also is the former head of OC leasing for Maguire.
“He understands the brokerage community, and has great experience running (public) companies,” May said.
Gilchrist played a key role when Maguire landed Irvine-based New Century Financial Corp. as an anchor tenant for the 530,000-square-foot tower it’s building at its Park Place campus in Irvine, May said.
Maguire, which went public in 2003, owns all or part of 23 office complexes totaling roughly 15.4 million rentable square feet.
The real estate investment trust is the largest owner of class A office buildings in and around downtown Los Angeles. Its properties there include the 72-story U.S. Bank Tower, billed as the tallest office building east of the Mississippi River.
Maguire also has sizable holdings in OC, following a buying spree here in 2004. The company’s local properties include Irvine’s Park Place campus and the four-building Washington Mutual Inc. campus, among others.
Maguire has expansion plans for both of the sites.
The Irvine Co. owns about 400 office buildings, though they generally are much smaller than Maguire’s.
The Irvine Co. doesn’t disclose the total size of its holdings. Previous Business Journal estimates put its combined office and retail holdings at around 30 million square feet.
Buying Spree
The Irvine Co. has been on a billion-dollar buying spree this year. Its acquisitions include office towers in San Diego and OC.
But the company hasn’t gone after high-rise office buildings in Los Angeles with the same gusto.
That makes the hiring of a high-profile L.A. real estate executive intriguing to several observers.
The Irvine Co.’s last big buy in L.A. came in 2000, when it paid a reported $350 million for Century City’s Fox Plaza, a 34-story Westside trophy property.
Gilchrist resigned from Maguire on Jan. 1, though he was expected to serve as an adviser to the company for a six-month period, ending June 1, according to a company statement.
Gilchrist currently is working for the county’s largest office landlord as a consultant, according to Jennifer Hieger, senior director of media relations for The Irvine Co.
Maguire was not Gilchrist’s first time running a big real estate firm. Before joining Maguire, he was chief executive and president of Alexandria, Va.-based Common-Wealth Atlantic Properties, a privately held real estate investment trust, from 1997 to 2001.
He is a former lawyer in Los Angeles and a founder of Santa Monica-based law firm Gilchrist & Rutter PC.
