IRVINE, CA – The Urban Land Institute of Orange
County/Inland Empire and Martin
& Associates have brought together an amazing group of accomplished
leaders in the real estate industry to present the ULI Leaders Program on
Planned Communities, Residential Design & Urban Infill. The popular and successful lecture series provides
a relevant learning experience designed for both the public and private sectors
of community development and the housing industry for professionals as well as
university students.
The first of eight classes was presented by Mark
Buckland, CEO and co-founder of City
Ventures. The rapidly-growing homebuilding
company focuses on urban housing opportunities in California. Mark Buckland has made urban housing
development his passion and driving concern for more than 30 years. Today, he is recognized as a leading industry
authority on urban housing issues.
Students learned many insights into the history,
workings and future outlook of City
Ventures. Focused on repositioning underutilized real
estate into residential housing, the majority of which is in supply constrained
coastal urban infill areas and high demand suburban locations, City Ventures
currently owns and controls over 10,000 lots and 20 projects in California.
Co-founders Chairman Craig Atkins and Mark
Buckland started the company from the beginning with a flat organizational
structure. Their flat management structure is based on their ability to solve
problems quickly and always being in touch with every project, including
handling their own working drawings to reduce risk. There are less layers of management where
employees are empowered and expected to take responsibility for a range of
traditionally managerial decisions in their daily routines.
Craig Atkins heads land acquisition and sales
with over 25 years of experience in real estate. The third employee to come to City Ventures, President Herb Gardener has
over 30 years in the homebuilding industry, helping to grow the firm from
almost nothing to 50 employees in five years.
The CEO of Northern California, Phil Kerr is highly focused on green
building and got involved with urban development as a means to preserve open
space with smarter, dense infill growth.
Opportunity driven, the company sees many advantages
to urban development. The urban lifestyle offers a suburban alternative for
those tired of longer commutes. Because urban projects are usually in the fully
developed areas, the car is almost unnecessary with goods and services
typically available within walking distances. The higher densities allow for a
more vibrant, less isolated lifestyle that encourages interaction and
creativity amongst the people that occupy the urban space. Ecologically
speaking, urban projects require far less of mother earth than do its suburban
counterparts.
Looking
toward the future, although it is a challenge to get cities used to higher
densities, Mark Buckland sees more and more urbanization that will be driven by
demographics. People are staying closer to family, especially as Millennials
are delaying their own families.
For more
information, please contact orangecounty@uli.org.
The Urban
Land Institute (www.uli.org) is a nonprofit education and
research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide
leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining
thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the ULI has more than
40,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development
disciplines.