John Parker had a big hand in real estate development here and an equally large charitable presence.
Parker, chairman of Aliso Viejo-based developer Parker Properties LLC, died in late November after suffering a stroke. He was 83.
“He was clearly an icon in real estate,” said Robert Campbell, cofounder and chairman of Aliso Viejo-based CT Realty Investors. “And in terms of personal integrity and morals, I can’t speak higher of him.”
Parker had been visiting developments in the days before he fell ill, according to son Russ Parker, vice chairman at Parker Properties.
John Parker was considered one of the fathers of OC commercial real estate.
Starting as a broker in the 1950s, he helped Irvine Company turn largely undeveloped land into the city of Irvine.
As a developer, Parker later helped build Aliso Viejo into one of South County’s corporate hubs.
His namesake company developed Aliso Viejo’s 60-acre Summit Office Campus alongside the San Joaquin (73) Toll Road.
Aliso Viejo “was nothing but barren ground” before Parker Properties began work there, said CT Realty’s Campbell, whose company is headquartered at the Summit. “He was way ahead of the pack.”
Parker helped develop more than 10 million square feet of commercial real estate in his career and helped start the careers of other developers and real estate professionals.
Coldwell Banker Start
Parker made his first mark brokering real estate, getting his start in the 1950s at Coldwell Banker, now CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.
He opened Coldwell Banker’s first Newport Beach office in the early 1960s. His biggest client was Irvine Co.
Parker marketed Irvine Co.’s Newport Center and other projects.
He helped “Irvine Co. fulfill its promise to build a new city around a new university,” said Ray Watson, former president of Irvine Co. and Walt Disney Co.
Among notable deals in a 20-year career at Coldwell Banker, Parker helped convince what’s now Allergan Inc. to move to its current 24-acre campus in Irvine near John Wayne Airport, according to Gavin Herbert, Allergan’s founder and chairman emeritus.
Parker founded Parker Properties in 1974. During the 1990s, he teamed with son Russ Parker to develop the first phases of Summit. Son-in-law Lee Redmond joined the family company in 1999.
About five years ago, Parker turned the bulk of the company’s day-to-day operations to the younger generation.
“It’s a young man’s game,” he said at the time.
Always Active
Outright retirement wasn’t an option. Reached by the Business Journal last month for a story on Newport Beach industrial developer and Coldwell Banker protege John O’Donnell, Parker said he still was making it to the office several times a week and remained active in charitable endeavors.
Parker was a charter and board member of the Center for Real Estate Advisory Board and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business.
“He was the catalyst that brought everyone together” for the new real estate center, said Andy Pelicano, dean of UC Irvine’s business school.
In the late 1990s, Parker was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from UCI’s business school.
Charitable Endeavors
A 2005 profile in the Los Angeles Times noted how a Parker-led group of real estate executives, who “made millions and partied hard when they weren’t at work,” turned their frequent get-togethers into a charitable endeavor called the Teahouse Gang.
That group evolved into the Building Block Foundation Fund, one of OC’s top philanthropies for commercial real estate.
“He’s left such a great legacy,” Russ Parker said. “He really evolved and really got into giving back.”
A service for Parker is set for Saturday at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in San Juan Capistrano.
