SLO luxury brokerage expands into Southern California
Elijah Brumback
Richardson Properties, a Central Coast real estate company, has expanded into Southern California.
The firm recently opened two new offices in the seaside cities of Manhattan Beach and Rancho Palos Verdes under the Strand Hill-Christie’s International Real Estate label.
Richardson Properties has worked as a Central Coast representative for luxury properties with Christie’s for eight years, and now that partnership is expanding to the Southern California area.
“It’s pretty unique for a company to start here on the Central Coast and expand south,” said Chris Richardson, the firm’s president, in a release. “Usually it’s the other way around. But, our experience with the Christie’s brand has been very well-received and we look forward to marketing significant properties in Southern California.”
Originally from Torrance and Redondo Beach, Richardson knows the area well. Not quite 40, he got his real estate license at age 18. Richardson got his start working with his real estate veteran father and founder of Richardson Properties, Charlie Richardson. “I grew up in the business,” Chris Richardson said. “I sat across the table from clients and got a hyper-education at a very young age.”
The business continues to be a family affair as his uncle, Gary Richardson, will oversee the Manhattan Beach office.
Richardson has also partnered with Lily Liang, an executive vice president with Stand Hill-Christies, to tap the growing market of wealthy Asian investors interested in the California real estate markets.
According to Richardson, Liang will be instrumental in the company’s growth and will oversee the Palos Verdes office. “Lily will be very involved in Christie’s efforts in China,” Richardson said. “Our outreach to Chinese buyers dovetails perfectly with our vision to be the go-to luxury brand for affluent buyers and sellers.”
CSUCI gets an earful
Residents of a community near the central campus of CSU Channel Islands University are worried their neighborhood could turn into the next Isla Vista.
The school is considering a plan to build 590 apartments in University Glen, a partially developed neighborhood of 658 homes and apartments that would house professors and university employees.
However, those folk, along with residents that don’t have any ties to the university, are worried that more apartments with more student renters would bring increased crime and traffic. Some attendees of a recent project meeting were so outraged that they said they would move if the apartments were built, according to media reports.
Phase 2 of University Glen was supposed to include another 242 homes, including 122 single-family houses and 120 town homes.
AIS hits high marks
Santa Barbara-based Apartment Investment Specialists recently announced over $50 million in sales and over 30 apartment building sales. According to broker and company owner Craig Lieberman, the firm has hit those numbers due to “investors flocking to investment grade real estate” thanks to stability and the current low interest rates environment.
“I’ve been selling apartment buildings for almost 40 years and this is one of the best times for investors both seasoned and beginners that I’ve experienced,” Lieberman said in a release. “We just can’t get enough inventories to meet the demand. If a property is priced correctly, it just won’t last long on the market these days.”
Hans lends a hand
San Luis Obispo-based real estate firm Rossetti Co. recently bolstered its ranks, adding longtime broker John Hans to the team.
A broker since 1986, Hans has leased or sold more than 10 million square feet of office, industrial and investment real estate, totaling more than $100 million, according to a release from the company.
Hans is a recipient of the Specialist, Industrial and Office Real Estate designation from the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors.
VCMC expansion in high-gear
Structural steel for the $305 million expansion of the Ventura County Medical Center is finally complete.
The buildings’ bones can start getting fleshed out with concrete and glass, followed by plumbing and electric work, which will keep the project on track for a spring 2017 completion.
Upgraded facilities and meeting California’s changing seismic standards are just a couple reasons for the facility’s new wing. Community Memorial, located down Loma Vista Road from VCMC, cited the same reasons for its new hospital construction.
VCMC’s new wing will include private rooms and an emergency room three times larger than the current one. New operating rooms are also part of the plan.
