State of San Diego's Multifamily Market

Don Gause has been part of the Southern California Real Estate industry for the past 34 years. Most recently, Don was the Senior Vice President of Residential Development with Shea Properties for 14 years, President of Watermarke Properties for 2 years, and a Principal at Wermers Properties over the last 4 years. Wermers Properties has completed or is in the development process for more than 5,000 apartment units Don’s experience includes both commercial and multi-family residential credentials. He is actively involved with the land acquisition, entitlement, design, construction, and the lease up on Wermers Properties’ development projects. Don’s portfolio of multi-family and mixed use developments include these notable properties: • Pacific Highlands Ranch, Carmel Valley (ongoing development, 331 units) • Trio, Pasadena (306 units, 14,000 SF retail) • City Lights, Aliso Viejo (793 units) • Waterford Place, Dublin (390 units, 150,000 SF retail) • Clayton on the Park, Clayton, MO (206 unit high rise)

Luke Daniels, President of The Richman Group of California is located in the San Diego, California office and leads Richman’s development and construction business in California. Mr. Daniels graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Urban Planning and Real Estate Development.

Marco Sessa is Senior Vice President, Land Development/Residential of Sudberry Properties, a San Diego-based company involved in the development, ownership and operation of town centers, mixed-use projects, apartment communities and Civita, an urban village in Mission Valley on the site of a former quarry. He is Principal/Partner in charge of all aspects of development for Civita. In addition to directing planning and development of the entire 230-acre community, which is designed for nearly 5,000 homes, 900,000 square feet of commercial, retail and office, and 60 acres of parks and open space, Sessa is also in charge of development and operation of two award-winning apartment communities in Civita: Circa 37 and West Park. Sessa graduated with honors from the University of Southern California with a Masters of Real Estate Development, School of Policy, Planning, and Development. He also has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Civil Engineering (emphasis Construction Engineering Management) from the University of Colorado. Sessa was the 2013 Chairman of the San Diego Building Industry Association (BIA) and is a member of the BIA’s Urban Council. He is also a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Housing Committee and Walk San Diego. His civic involvement includes board membership with the Mission Valley Planning Group and the Mission Valley YMCA.

Timothy M. Hutter is a partner in our San Diego office, where he practices in the firm's Litigation and Land Use groups. Tim's practice focuses primarily on business and real estate disputes, including contract, construction, joint venture, entitlement, land use and commercial landlord/tenant litigation. Many of his projects and cases involve residential and mixed-use projects, and several invoke California's density bonus law to incorporate and develop affordable housing. Tim also handles cases on appeal, and has successfully represented clients in the California Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court.

Paul joined MG Properties Group in 2010 and is responsible for the firm's acquisition, disposition, and capital markets activities. At MG, he has been involved with the purchase of approximately 22,000 units totaling $4 billion in total consideration. Paul has 20 years of experience in real estate private equity investment, capital markets, and corporate M&A. Prior to joining MG, he held various roles in commercial real estate debt and equity acquisitions, development, and financing. He has a background in corporate M&A and venture capital investing at Northrop Grumman (NOC). Paul holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Born and raised in San Diego, Russ has a B.S. Finance and Accounting from the Orfalea Business School, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Russ groomed his business knowledge as a CPA, however has spent most of his career in real estate development handling all facets from acqusitions and financing to project management and construction. San Diego Magazine named Russ as one of San Diego’s Next Generation of Civic Leaders.

Lorne Polger is the Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of Pathfinder Partners, LLC. Pathfinder is a real estate private equity firm based in San Diego, California with a billion dollar portfolio of real estate investments primarily in the western United States. Lorne focuses on acquisitions, dispositions, business and legal strategies. He practiced real estate law for more than 20 years and prior to co-founding Pathfinder in 2006, was the head of the Real Estate, Environmental and Land Use team at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, LLP, San Diego’s largest law firm. Mr. Polger is recognized for his multi-family expertise, having directly participated in the acquisition, disposition, financing and development of apartment, condominium and condominium conversion transactions exceeding $6 billion in value. His law practice included acquisitions, dispositions, developments, financings, foreclosures, reorganizations and workouts, syndications, and leasing, along with residential, office and industrial condominium conversion and construction. Mr. Polger graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Colorado College, Cum Laude, in 1984 and earned his law degree from UCLA in 1988. Mr. Polger was a finalist in the 2015 EY San Diego Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. He has been a member of Vistage, the international CEO organization, since 2013. His community activities include serving as a national commissioner and chair of the Regional Advisory Board of the Anti Defamation League, as a board member at the Burnham Moores Centre at the University of San Diego, as a board member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and as a Director of the San Diego Chapter of the CCIM Institute. He also currently serves on the Campaign for Cardiovascular Care at Scripps Health in San Diego.

A graduate of Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo, David formed McCullough Landscape Architecture as a sole proprietorship in 1999 while consulting for another firm. After wife and partner, Catherine joined the business in 2001 and became Chief Executive Officer and President in 2002; the firm became a woman-owned corporation and a certified Small Business by the State of California. With offices in San Diego and the Bay Area, McCullough creates spaces for hospitality, retail, mixed-use and institutional properties around the world. As principal landscape architect, David oversees all aspects of the design and production of firm projects at McCullough. He serves as head designer on all projects and maintains quality control on all work completed. Previous projects have earned awards and recognition in several national publications. David finds time in his schedule to take leadership in creative organizations such as the the San Diego Architecture Foundation (SDAF) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) local Urban Design Committee. He currently serves as Chair of the Pecha Kucha Night program, which is on its sixth successful year. He finds it inspiring to take part in such a diverse mix of creative minds while bringing them together to share with the public their wild ideas. In addition, recently David was appointed by San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer to serve on the Historical Resources Board as Chair, which governs the identification, protection, retention and preservation of historical sites in San Diego. Concurrently, he has been invited to serve on the city’s Code Monitoring Team (CMT). David’s design philosophy is centered around merging context and creative passion with grit, soul, and style. The firm takes every project with a uniquely creative approach that centers around diversity, discovery and conservation. David feels it’s important to engage the human spirit with nature, while expressing empathy. Recent projects include a large waterfront development in Shanghai, China, Seaport San Diego redevelopment, several multifamily projects in Calgary and Vancouver, along with other notable hospitality, entertainment, and mixed-use collaborations in the Western US and Canada.