Orange County State of the Market

Taylor Arnett brings more than a decade of expertise in acquisitions to his role as Vice President of Acquisitions at CapRock Partners, including a proven track record for sourcing and underwriting deals, and procuring capital across commercial real estate asset classes. Since joining CapRock Partners as an Acquisitions Manager in 2014, Arnett has further expanded the company’s deal pipeline in Southern California with a focus on infill properties in Los Angeles and Orange County. In 2017, Arnett was promoted to Vice President of Acquisitions after leading CapRock Partner’s expansion out of California with the purchase of a handful of off-market industrial properties in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prior to joining CapRock Partners, Arnett served as Acquisitions Manager for Asset Management Consultants, Inc. (AMC Investments), where he anchored a team that purchased and/or joint ventured more than 30 real estate investments, including industrial, office, retail, and multi-family properties, averaging $75 million in transactions annually. Previous to joining AMC, Arnett was a senior financial analyst for The Koll Company where he was responsible for the underwriting and due diligence processes on office and industrial acquisitions ranging from $10 million to $50 million in the southwest U.S. Arnett began his real estate career as commercial real estate appraiser at Frazier Capital in Downtown Los Angeles. Arnett graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he played collegiate football, serving as Captain his senior year. He is a Board Member of NAIOP SoCal, as well as a graduate of NAIOP Southern California Young Professionals Group, in which he has stayed active as the Chair of the 2016-2017 YPG Alumni Committee. In 2016, Arnett was one of 21 selected nationally to receive the NAIOP Developing Leaders Award. He lives with his wife and daughter in San Clemente.

Rochelle Mills leads Innovative Housing Opportunities and its Housing Innovation Fund (HIFund) affiliate. HIFund devises creative private financing to deliver catalytic and comprehensive affordable housing developments. Ms. Mills brings a diverse background in architecture, design, construction administration, community planning, writing, and cultural tourism. She is immediate past president of the Southern California Association of NonProfit Housing (SCANPH) and serves on several public and nonprofit boards (including CAL-ALHFA and Arts for LA), services committees, and leader groups.

Jerome A. Fink is a co-founder & Managing Partner of The Bascom Group, LLC. Bascom has completed over $12.0 billion in multi-family and commercial value-added transactions since 1996 including more than 300 multifamily properties and 80,000 units. Bascom has ranked among the top 50 multifamily owners in the U.S. Bascom’s subsidiaries and joint ventures include the Southern California Industrial Fund, Rushmore Properties, Bascom Portfolio Advisors, Shubin Nadal Associates, Spirit Bascom Ventures, REDA Bascom Ventures, MHF RM Holdings, Bascom Northwest Ventures, Bascom Arizona Ventures, Harbor Associates, Village Partner Ventures, and the Realm Group. Bascom’s subsidiaries also include Premier Business Centers, the largest privately held executive suite company in the U.S. Prior to founding Bascom, Mr. Fink acted as Senior Acquisitions and Sales Manager from 1991 to 1995 for Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company. His responsibilities included market assessment, property identification and negotiation, and the acquisition and disposition of real estate investments. Mr. Fink holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Master of Business Administration in Real Estate and Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a member of the Institute of Real Estate Managements (IREM) and Turnaround Management Association (TMA). Mr. Fink is a licensed real estate broker in the state of California, a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), a Certified Property Manager (CPM), a Certified Mergers & Acquisitions Advisor (CM&AA), and a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP). He has appeared as a guest speaker at various functions, including those for the Urban Land Institute, University of California Los Angeles and Irvine, University of Southern California, and other assorted industry events. Mr. Fink previously served on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association and is currently a member of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate Executive Committee.  He has previously served on the board for the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) California Coast chapter and is currently a member of the World Presidents Organization (WPO). In 2004, Mr. Fink was awarded the Apartment Executive of the Year by the Real Estate Conference Group, the industry's largest and most prestigious multifamily conference on the West Coast, and was later awarded the Rising Star award by the University of California Irvine Center for Real Estate in 2008. Mr. Fink was also recognized in the 2011 Multi-Family Executive Magazine. In 2016, Mr. Fink was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Orange County.

Sandra Jacobson is a partner at Allen Matkins in the firm's Orange County office. Her practice involves all aspects of real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, real estate development and leasing of office, industrial, multi-family and retail properties across the United States. Sandy has extensive experience in representing sellers and buyers in complex and portfolio projects involving industrial and office properties. Sandy has helped her clients to develop more than one million square feet of office, industrial and retail assets, including the negotiation of construction contracts, development agreements, reciprocal easement agreements, CC&Rs and other related development agreements and has helped her clients in the disposition of multiple industrial and office condominium projects. In addition, Sandy has extensive retail experience. She has represented several "big box" tenants and other anchor tenants in their acquisition of real properties and with the negotiation of their leases, SNDAs and other related lease documentation. She has also represented landowners in the negotiation of leases and other related documents with a wide array of anchor and junior anchor tenants.

Bill Shopoff has more than forty (40) years of real estate and investment experience. His expertise includes the acquisition, development, and sale of new and redeveloped residential and commercial properties throughout the United States, as well as partnership structure, debt placement, venture capital and investment underwriting. Mr. Shopoff has acquired over 1,000 properties on behalf of his various entities, including the acquisition of over 6,000 apartment units (fee or mortgage loans), the entitlement of over 20,000 lots/units of land suitable for single-family or multi-family development, as well as millions of square feet of commercial projects. Additionally, the firm has undertaken numerous development projects, with current developments underway including high cube logistics buildings, apartments, luxury condominiums and single-family build to rent product. For over 30 years, Mr. Shopoff has led Shopoff Realty Investments and its predecessor firms. Since 1992, he has served as either Principal or as President of the Asset Recovery Fund, and since August 1999, as the President of Eastbridge Partners, L.P. Upon acquiring the assets of Eastbridge Partners, L.P. in April 2004, Mr. Shopoff created the manager, Shopoff Realty Investments, L.P., and has served as its President since that time. Bill Shopoff also stands as Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder of Vertimass, LLC since 2012 and holds security licenses: Series 22, 24, 39, 62, 63, 79TO. Involved in a number of industry associations, Mr. Shopoff is currently a member of Commercial Investment Real Estate and is a Certified Commercial Investment Member. He is also a member of the Urban Land Institute, the Building Industry Association as well as Lambda Alpha International (LAI), a global land economics society. Mr. Shopoff also stands as Investment Committee member for LCAD (Laguna College of Art + Design) and board member for The Park Club professional network of Orange County. Mr. Shopoff is also involved in various collegiate councils, being named to the Executive Council of the Real Estate Center at The University of Texas McCombs School of Business. This Executive Council advises faculty and staff on curriculum matters within the University’s real estate department. He is also a member of the University of California Irvine-Chief Executive Roundtable (UCI CERT), which works in concert with local business leaders and university faculty. In addition to his industry and educational board involvement, Mr. Shopoff is also involved in various nonprofit foundations, including his former roles as President of the Board of Directors for the Central Coast Wine Classic Foundation, and as a board member of Global Energy Network International (GENI), a non-profit organization based in San Diego, California. Furthermore, Mr. Shopoff has also been the top fundraiser for the past 20 years for the AIDS LifeCycle, a 585-mile bicycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, which supports the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Mr. Shopoff is a frequent speaker on various real estate and investment related topics. He has been invited to participate as a key panelist and a guest speaker on professional panels at real estate conferences and industry events throughout the United States. He holds many awards and accreditations including nomination for the Orange County Business Journal’s 2023 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award.

Mr. McEvoy co-leads the assets management and operations team for the company. Prior to joining Harbor Associates Rich was Vice President – Portfolio Director for EQ Office, the U.S. office portfolio company wholly-owned by Blackstone’s real estate funds. During his time at EQ Mr. McEvoy oversaw the firm’s portfolio operations in South Los Angeles and Orange County including all asset management, leasing, construction, and marketing for more than twenty-four office projects equaling over 6.5 million square feet. Prior to joining EQ Office Mr. McEvoy was a senior leasing executive for Douglas Emmett Inc. in West Los Angeles and a Senior Vice President and Partner with Lee & Associates in Irvine, California. Over his 22+ year career in commercial real estate Mr. McEvoy has led property repositions and maximized investment returns through the strategic deployment of over $175 million worth of capital improvements. Along the way Rich has completed numerous property sales in excess of $1B in value and more than 900 commercial lease transactions exceeding 5 Million square feet leased. Mr. McEvoy holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California (USC). He is also a recipient of the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation and has been a regular member of NAIOP and LACRA.

Following a successful career in the action sports industry including as President of Quiksilver, Shaheen transferred his international trend expertise to the unconventional place of community redevelopment. His initial project, the LAB Anti-Mall, now 25 years “young,” continues to garner international acclaim in addition to the CAMP, a decade-old sustainable and eco-friendly retail campus. Recently, LAB Holding repurposed several California landmarks including the Casino San Clemente; Center St. Promenade, Anaheim’s historic downtown; Anaheim Packing District including the Packard and MAKE Buildings; with the historic Balboa Theater undergoing restoration as a seaside live music venue in Newport Beach. The LAB portfolio includes innovative retail such as SEED People’s Market; Healthy Junk vegan fast food; Hammar Workshop & Bar featuring craft cocktails, BXCR, an underground “wine society,” and SOLO, a creative co-op workspace. In progress are designs for a boutique motel, culinary artists residence complex and urban apartment lofts.

Mr. Clements is a real estate professional with expertise in acquisitions, operational management, business development and financial consulting. His experience encompasses property transaction due diligence, environmental compliance and development strategy. Mr. Clements’s experience is enhanced with over 20 years of leadership, team building and training positions in the United States Navy. He leverages his Naval training and extensive land acquisition knowledge to provide clients with a value-add experience predicated on teamwork, integrity, and finding unique solutions that do right by the client and the community. As a subject matter expert in real estate due diligence, Mr. Clements has presented keynote addresses, seminars and panel discussions on acquisition, financial and environmental issues concerning the building community. Mr. Clements is the founder of “Knights of the Roundtable” executive networking group of real estate professionals in Southern California. The group was featured in the national publication, “Big Builder” Magazine as a premier contact building organization. Mr. Clements is currently a Partner and the Western Regional Director at Hillmann Consulting, LLC. He is responsible for overall business operations, including strategic planning, fiscal management and field staff management of our West Coast operations. Mr. Clements has direct oversight of all due diligence projects including bid preparation, personnel and equipment scheduling, report preparation and client relations. He also ensures that technical and customer service support are provided effectively and efficiently to clients. Mr. Clements holds a Masters Degree in Finance and a Bachelors degree in Financial Services from San Diego State University.

As Principal at Danielian Associates, Daniel champions the firm’s multifamily studio and focuses on higher density, multifamily, mixed-use developments and infill. His work history has found solutions for every development challenge, from programming and master planning to new residential product development. Daniel has a passion for people, teamwork, and collaboration – he leads by example and enjoys mentoring and coaching. Daniel encourages enhanced levels of creativity, delivers unrivaled client experience, and continuously identifies disruptive ways to more efficiently design and build housing. He has over 30 years of experience working in various leadership roles at top architecture firms. More recently, Daniel worked primarily as a leader in multifamily and hospitality design, though his background includes experience in all aspects of the architectural process. Daniel has successfully built teams, led studios, and continuously strives for design excellence. Daniel received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell University and is an adjunct professor for the USC Master of Real Estate Development program. He is a dynamic and sought-after industry speaker, contributing thought leader, a full member of ULI, and sits on the Multifamily Council at NAHB.