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Craig Atkins - Chairman
Craig Atkins has been passionately involved in real estate development for over 20 years. His involvement in hundreds of transactions has provided him incredible insight into future opportunities..
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Craig Atkins has been passionately involved in real estate development for over 20 years.
His involvement in hundreds of transactions has provided him incredible insight into future opportunities.
Mr. Atkins is chairman and co-founder of City Ventures, a real estate development company that focuses on urban housing in California.
Prior to starting City Ventures, Mr. Atkins was Chairman, CEO and founder of O'Donnell/Atkins, California's largest land brokerage
firm, averaging over $1 billion in annual land transactions. Mr. Atkins co-founded O'Donnell/Atkins in 1992 to capitalize on the
need for advanced land brokerage services, focusing solely on development projects. Mr. Atkins has personally been involved with
over $3 billion worth of real estate transactions. O'Donnell/Atkins had six offices spread throughout California, thus providing
Mr. Atkins with a depth of knowledge in every major real estate market in the state.
Mr. Atkins was also co-founder and president of O/A homes. During its operation, O/A homes built golf course frontage homes in La Quinta, CA.
Prior to founding O'Donnell/Atkins, Mr. Atkins was a project manager for the Warmington Company. His projects ranged in size up to 13,000
lots and included ancillary uses such as hospitals, retail shopping centers, golf courses, K-12 schools and community colleges.
Mr. Atkins was voted Entrepreneur of the year for Orange County in 2003 by Ernst & Young/Orange County Business Journal, and is a member
of the Young Presidents Organization. Mr. Atkins graduated cum laude from the University of Colorado, Boulder with two degrees;
Architecture and a B.S. in Business Administration.
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Mark Buckland - Chief Executive Officer
For more than 25 years, Mark Buckland has made urban housing development his driving concern. In recognition of this passion, Professional Builder magazine named him..
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For more than 25 years, Mark Buckland has made urban housing development his driving concern. In recognition of this passion, Professional Builder magazine named him
America's Builder of the Year in 2000, while various governmental agencies have awarded him commendations for his ongoing
contributions to homebuilding. Today he is widely recognized as a leading industry authority on urban housing issues.
Buckland is President and co-founder of City Ventures, which focuses on urban housing opportunities in California.
Prior to forming City Ventures, in 1988, he co-founded The Olson Company, a leading developer of for-sale urban housing.
Buckland held the position of President and COO of The Olson Company. Under his leadership the company worked with more
than 80 of California's leading cities and redevelopment agencies, including the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego,
San Jose, Oakland, Long Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Pasadena, Brea, Garden Grove, Ventura, Oxnard, Hayward, Richmond,
Pittsburg, Fullerton, and Compton. The Company successfully entitled more than 150 communities, totaling more than
10,000 homes valued at $4.5 billion.
Prior to co-founding the Olson Company, Buckland held a variety of real estate-related posts. He was Development Manager
for the Bixby Ranch Company, responsible for both residential and commercial projects. Buckland also served as a Project
Manager for the Office of Planning at the University of California at Irvine where he worked closely on the University's
master plan and housing developments.
After graduating cum laude from the University of California at Irvine with Bachelors Degrees in Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Buckland received his Masters of Science in Construction Management from Stanford University. Recently,
Buckland completed the Owner President Management program at Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Young Presidents
Organization, an alumni member of University California Irvine, Stanford University and Harvard Business School.
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Scott Homan - Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Homan joined City Ventures in September, 2009 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining City Ventures, Mr. Homan was the Chief Financial Officer of The..
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Mr. Homan joined City Ventures in September, 2009 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining City Ventures, Mr. Homan
was the Chief Financial Officer of The Olson Company since 1998. Previously, Mr. Homan was the Vice President of Finance for Greystone - Orange County
Division of the publicly traded homebuilder, Lennar. Mr. Homan joined Greystone at the initial formation of the company in 1992, and managed
the financial challenges in growing the company to $150 Million.
His business experience of enhancing systems and financial infrastructure in a rapidly growing company adds great value to City Ventures.
Prior to joining Greystone, Mr. Homan's career started as a CPA with Fox and Company. Scott has also held several financial positions with
Arnel Development, Kaufman & Broad, and Birtcher Real Estate, Inc.
Mr. Homan received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting from California State University, Fullerton.
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Herb Gardner - President - Homebuilding
Mr. Gardner has 25 years of experience managing the building of residential and apartment communities in over 60 municipalities in 3 different states. After starting..
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Mr. Gardner has 25 years of experience managing the building of residential and apartment communities
in over 60 municipalities in 3 different states. After starting in 1985 as a customer service representative for a national
homebuilder in Dallas, Texas, he spent the next five years rising through the ranks, eventually ending up as the Division President
for the company's Oklahoma City Division. In 1990, he co-found his own homebuilding company in Southern California, primarily
building in the Inland Empire. Over 15 years, Gardner Construction, built, sold and closed over 1,000 homes in 12 in-fill communities.
In 2005, Mr. Gardner accepted a position with The Olson Company as Regional President for the new Central Coast Region, building homes
in Ventura and Santa Barbara County, as well as the San Fernando Valley. As The Olson Company, transitioned into the new economy
Mr. Gardner took over statewide operations of the consolidated company. In the four years that Mr. Gardner was with The Olson Company,
he closed out over 20 communities and delivered 650 homes in the most challenging economic times of the last 70 years.
A big proponent of in-fill communities and the urban lifestyle Mr. Gardner resides in downtown Long Beach, CA and can often be seen
using the MTA Blue Line to visit family and friends. Although he has extensive experience in all aspects of residential homebuilding,
ranging from land acquisition to warranty management, he specializes in managing teams of people in delivering communities on time,
on budget and to the quality standards the marketplace demands. Mr. Gardner holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from California
State University, San Bernardino.
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Ben Besley - Vice President of Development
Mr. Besley brings eight years of residential and commercial real estate experience to the City Ventures team. He served as Regional Vice President for The..
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Mr. Besley brings eight years of residential and commercial real estate experience to the City Ventures team. He served
as Regional Vice President for The Olson Company, managing acquisition, design and entitlement for over 500 homes in residential and mixed-use
projects throughout Los Angeles County. His accomplishments there included the successful development of high-density, mixed-use, public-private
partnerships and affordable housing communities.
Mr. Besley then joined Big Rock Partners, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate private equity fund, where he managed development,
construction and operations for office, retail, hotel and residential assets.
At City Ventures, Mr. Besley is responsible for land acquisition, asset management, project design and entitlement for new infill communities throughout
Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Mr. Besley discovered his affinity for infill development while earning his undergraduate degree in Urban Studies
at Columbia University. A fan of the urban environment, Mr. Besley has also enjoyed living in Washington, D.C., Boston, San Francisco and San Diego.
Mr. Besley holds an MBA from Harvard University and is a LEED Accredited Professional.
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Bill McReynolds - Vice President of Development
Mr. McReynolds has over 13 years of municipal experience working for cities throughout Southern California. His experience spans nearly every municipal department..
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Mr. McReynolds has over 13 years of municipal experience working for cities throughout Southern California. His experience
spans nearly every municipal department within a city, working in the City Manager's Office, Police, Recreation, Human Resources and Finance departments.
Mr. McReynolds uses his municipal experience and project management skills to assist local governments in developing and expanding their vision for
their communities, while easily explaining the financial impacts.
Mr. McReynolds is key asset for City Ventures in developing and maintaining successful relationships with our city partners. Since joining the development
community in 2004, he has entitled over 900 homes in communities throughout Southern California. In his role as Vice President of Development he is responsible
for site selection, due diligence, managing the design team, budget control and all entitlement activities.
Mr. McReynolds has worked on a variety of for-sale affordable housing communities at both the low and moderate income levels in addition to providing a
significant amount of entry level housing. In addition to designing and entitling affordable housing communities, Mr. McReynolds' experience with agencies
ranges from negotiating Disposition and Development Agreements (DDA) to assisting agencies in the preparation of affordable documents which relate to the
for-sale affordable communities.
He has an excellent understanding of the laws and jurisdictions that govern affordable housing in California. Mr. McReynolds received a Bachelor of
Arts Degree in Political Science and Masters Degree in Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach.
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Phil Kerr - Vice President of Development
Mr. Kerr has a successful track record of leading the development process for residential and mixed use developments in Bay Area communities. Mr. Kerr actively works with..
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Mr. Kerr has a successful track record of leading the development process for residential and mixed use developments in Bay Area communities. Mr. Kerr actively works with land owners, communities, agencies and cities to develop high quality multi-family infill communities. He was in charge of acquisition, design, entitlement, and construction for the bay area townhome and mid-rise division of Intracorp. Prior to Intracorp, Mr. Kerr was with The Olson Company where he managed the development team for the East and South Bay markets and was responsible for all entitlement and development projects in those markets.
Mr. Kerr got involved with urban development as a means to preserve open space with smarter more dense infill growth. At City Ventures, Mr. Kerr is responsible for land acquisition, asset management, project design and entitlement for new infill communities throughout Northern California.
Mr. Kerr has an MBA from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College.
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Tony Pauker - Vice President of Development
Prior to City Ventures, Mr. Pauker served for seven years as the San Diego Regional President for The Olson Company. In that capacity, he oversaw the construction of 800 homes..
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Prior to joining the Olson Company, he was Vice President of Development for DDR/Oliver McMillan; a San Diego based retail
and mixed use developer. While there, he oversaw the development of The Pike retail center in Long Beach, which consists of approximately 500,000 square feet.
Mr. Pauker worked for nine years as a real estate consultant representing developers and municipalities on land use, finance and market issues pertaining to
infill development projects throughout California. He also served as an acquisitions consultant to BRIDGE Housing, the largest 501c3 affordable housing
developer in California.
For BRIDGE he acquired approximately 500 units in Southern California. Mr. Pauker received his undergraduate degree from UCLA and his MBA in Real
Estate Finance and a Master in Urban and Regional Planning from USC. He is the immediate past chair of the San Diego/Tijuana District Council of
ULI, having served in that capacity since 2006. He is also a member of Lambda Alpha, an AICP member of the American Planning Association and holds
California real estate broker license and Class B general contractor license.
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