Emile’s Big Deal; The Real on Neal; OCMA’s Fine Feel

Nothing mixed about a certain aspect of Emile Haddad’s personal perspective on FivePoint Holdings’ debut on the New York Stock Exchange last week, when an opening share price of $14 was below an earlier stated range but also rose by about 7% in the first day of trading—good for a market cap of about $3.3 billion. Haddad rang the bell and made the rounds of Big Apple media, including an appearance on CNBC, to address some of the typical questions that greet new arrivals to public markets. He also managed to find a quiet moment away from the lights to reflect on his journey from young soccer-player-turned-engineer-turned-patriot in the crosshairs of the bloody civil war in his native Lebanon in the 1980s. “I dreamed a lot and hoped to live long enough to chase my dreams,” said Haddad, who eventually led his family to California, where they became Americans and kept on dreaming. Haddad and his family and his company still have plenty of room to dream, too, with major master developments in various stages at OC’s Great Park, Newhall Ranch in L.A., and the Shipyard in San Francisco (see related story, page 1) … Hager Pacific’s Rob Neal is a dreamer and a car guy when he’s not shopping for opportunities on “underperforming, aged or environmentally impacted real estate” as the OC-based managing partner for the firm. He got the chance to live a long-standing dream when he took to the Grand Prix course laid out on the streets of Monaco during a recent visit there with his wife, Berni. Full disclosure: Neal hit the course a few days ahead of the pros, drove a rented minivan, and wasn’t quite sure whether those streets were even open to the public at that point of preparations for the big race … Elizabeth Harryman has enjoyed sweets and treats all over the world as travel editor for ACE Publications in Costa Mesa, which publishes the mega-popular Westways and other periodicals under the AAA banner. But she always comes back to La Petite Sourie for these macarons, which help keep the little gem of a cafe at MacArthur and Fairview crowded … Concordia U. is considering two separate proposals to set up a campus in China in conjunction with a private school there, according to Stephen Christensen, dean of the business school at the Irvine campus … The Orange County Museum of Art has taken another step toward its ambitious goal of a leadership role on contemporary art for the entire Pacific Rim, thanks to its current “Building as Ever” exhibit, which manages to concentrate the mind and please the eye with a delightful disregard for any distinction between the two … Sullivan Says: The wiener schnitzel at the Pacific Club is a cosmopolitan keeper … From global to local: Register Publisher Ron Hasse told last week’s OC Forum that the daily has regained financial stability under Digital First Media, its new owner. He also reported that the move to offices in Anaheim is complete and that plans are in place to shift printing from its former headquarters in Santa Ana to Riverside, where the company also owns the Press-Enterprise. No word on what Mike Harrah, who now owns the old Register office and plant on Grand Avenue, plans to do with the printing press.