Can local grad students solve the pyramid puzzle that is the Chet Holifield building?
The funky, beige Ziggurat in Laguna Niguel is being auctioned this summer, the second attempt to sell the campus after a first effort failed last April. So far, there are few options on the table for what to do with the 89-acre complex completed in 1971. In the initial auction, the feds required any new owner to preserve the seven-story building.
Also see: Laguna Niguel’s ‘Ziggurat’ could be demolished if 2nd auction succeeds
Now, two teams of students from Chapman University and UC Irvine have a unique challenge in front of them: Figure out the best way to repurpose the federal building. The property, originally intended for use in the aerospace industry, includes two land components and more than 1 million square feet of building space. And don’t forget all 4,777 parking spaces.
The OC Real Estate Challenge — hosted by the trade group NAIOP SoCal — is the third for the Orange County universities. The original program, now 25 years old, pits teams from USC and UCLA each year with a similar goal and a silver shovel prize. Last year, the LA teams pitched redevelopment plans for the south blimp hangar in Tustin (the one that didn’t burn). UCLA won the coveted shovel.
The Orange County teams, aspiring to win the Orange Cup, will present their projects April 17 at Chapman University.
More on the building: Laguna Niguel’s $70 million Ziggurat auction is wasted opportunity
We asked NAIOP SoCal for some details on what the students must do in this commercial real estate contest. Their answers have been edited for length.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about the scope of the challenge and what the students must conceive is possible?
A: Each student team is given a request for proposal developed by NAIOP SoCal on behalf of the joint constituents. In this case it’s the General Services Administration, which owns the property, and the city of Laguna Niguel. The students propose a plan (redevelopment or existing use update) that maximizes benefits, such as economic returns for the developer/buyer as well as design, aesthetic, service, tax and community benefits for the city.
The proposed project also should be realistic in terms of supply-demand constraints.
Q: How much time does each team commit to the contest?
A: The project site was revealed to the students on March 4 – which is when they are also given the RFP. The student teams then do their own research and interviews as they see fit to develop their proposal, with some limitations (i.e. the student teams cannot contact the GSA, for example).
The students reach out to between 40 and 80 different due diligence sources in their effort to understand the project possibilities. And bear in mind, some of these students are fully employed MBA students as well.
For NAIOP SoCal, the goal is to have the student experience closely resemble the research that would be done for a “real world” client presentation.
The student teams then present, in person, on April 17 to a panel of industry judges, who will conduct a brief follow-up Q&A session, in front of the attendees.
In other words, it’s a major time commitment for the students.
Q: How does being a winner / participant fuel a career in the CRE trade?
A: Over the years, students have been recruited from the event for internships and employment from NAIOP SoCal member companies. And it is considered a high honor at all the schools to be chosen for the student team as it helps further build the students’ resumes.
UCLA and UC Irvine are recipients of a combined $801,584 in federal grants to study the effects of accessory dwelling units in California. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Universities land grants to study ADUs
In more collegiate news this week, UCLA and UC Irvine are recipients of a combined $801,584 in federal grants to study the effects of accessory dwelling units in California.
The grants are coming from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“As we’re seeing more and more, our nation’s housing stock does not meet the needs of our growing country,” HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said in a statement. “We need to think creatively, from innovative construction methods to office-to-residential conversions.”
UCLA was awarded $458,340 to study the ADU legalization and production in the state and how they affect rents and home prices. The university also will assess how legalization changes land values even for parcels that do not exercise the new development option.
UCI was awarded $343,244 to study California’s reforms aimed at mitigating regulatory barriers obstructing the development of ADUs and how they might impact fair housing laws.
Another California recipient of federal housing grant money was M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates. The San Francisco design and architecture firm, which also has offices in Newport Beach and Los Angeles, was awarded $858,261.91 to study office-to-residential conversion activities in six cities.
HUD said Gensler’s study will test the financial feasibility of such conversions, related policies and incentives, and also build an online community guide that will give local policymakers an estimate on the potential impact of conversion policies on communities.
Andrew Taffet, chief investment officer at The Carrington Cos. in Anaheim, has added the title chief executive officer to his duties, succeeding company founder Bruce Rose. (Photo courtesy of The Carrington Cos.)
Carrington Cos. promotes Taffet to CEO
Andrew Taffet, chief investment officer at The Carrington Cos., has assumed the additional role of chief executive officer for the Anaheim-based company.
He succeeds company founder Bruce Rose who will shift to chairman of the company’s Executive Committee.
“This is not a dramatic handoff by any means, but rather a natural next step for our business,” said Rose. “In addition to his duties as chief investment officer, Andrew has been handling the day-to-day operations and oversight of our company for some time. The Carrington Cos. will continue to operate as they have for the past 20-plus years.”
The holding company’s primary business includes single-family mortgage asset management, mortgage origination, servicing and real estate sales and settlement services.
Jamie Duran, the former Southern California president of Coldwell Banker, has joined AKG Christie’s International Real Estate in Beverly Hills to help lead a seven-office expansion. (Photo courtesy of AKG Christie’s International Real Estate)
Duran tapped to expand Christie’s by 7
Jamie Duran, Coldwell Banker’s former Southern California leader, has been picked to expand the West Los Angeles affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate.
As executive vice president for the AKG Christie’s affiliate based in Beverly Hills, Duran’s mission is opening at least seven new offices from Del Mar to Montecito over the next six months.
The brokerage is led by Aaron Kirman of CNBC’s “Listing Impossible.”
Duran left Coldwell Banker in June when her position was eliminated as part of a corporate consolidation. As Southern California president, she oversaw 65 Coldwell Banker offices and nearly 5,000 agents.
In her new job with AKG Christie’s, which has approximately 200 agents, Duran will lead the effort to expand the operation to Newport Beach, Palm Springs, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, Calabasas, Del Mar, Montecito and “other strategically connected locations.”
“We are building an elite alliance with the worldwide Christie’s International Real Estate network,” Duran said in a statement. “You don’t need to be the biggest to be the best. We are simply focused on offering the best-in-class service and advisors.”
Last year, AKG Christie’s had sales of more than $846 million in the Combined Los Angeles Westside Multiple Listing Service. Kirman also has been among the leading agents in that MLS, according to numbers from real estate consulting firm Real Data Strategies. The brokerage had an average sale price of nearly $3.3 million.
Duran is no stranger to expansion. In 2015, she helped orchestrate defections of three top First Team Real Estate managers to Coldwell Banker, bringing dozens of agents and listings with them. First Team sued, but Coldwell Banker prevailed at a trial last month.
Staff writer Jeff Collins contributed to this report.
The real estate roundup is compiled from news releases and written by Business Editor Samantha Gowen. Submit items and high-resolution photos via email to sgowen@scng.com. Please allow at least a week for publication. All items are subject to editing for clarity and length.
Related Articles
No relief this year for homebuyers, industry insiders predict
Are corporate landlords gobbling up California homes?
Los Angeles County testing AI’s ability to prevent homelessness
Will rental housing prices drop in 2024?
This California couple wanted a $500,000 starter home. Here are their 3 choices
