The Irvine Company made official a public secret in real estate circles on Tuesday by announcing the hiring of former Maguire Properties Inc. executive Richard Gilchrist as head of its office division.
Gilchrist, 60, has worked as a consultant for the Irvine Co. for the past few weeks. He’s set to assume his new position on July 6.
He replaces William “Bill” Halford, who left earlier this year to take over the top spot at Newport Beach-based developer Bixby Land Co.
Gilchrist is set to oversee the Irvine Co.’s various office developments, including two towers being built at the Irvine Spectrum.
He’ll handle leasing, operations, marketing and finance for the county’s largest landlord. The Newport Beach-based company owns about 400 office buildings, most in Orange County and some in San Diego, Los Angeles and Silicon Valley.
Right off the bat, Gilchrist’s focus is set to be the integration of recently acquired office buildings and the development and leasing of buildings going up, according to the company.
At Los Angles-based Maguire, Gilchrist oversaw growth through building acquisitions and development. He led the company’s initial public offering in 2003.
Prior to Maguire, Gilchrist served as chief executive of Alexandria, Va.-based Commonwealth Atlantic Properties. There, he managed the planning and approval process for one of the East Coast’s largest mixed-use projects, an 11 million-square-foot development called Potomac Yard.
He is a former lawyer in Los Angeles and a founder of Santa Monica-based law firm Gilchrist & Rutter PC.
