Interior Designers
* Neville Lewis has been appointed president of PHH Environments, an interior architectural and facilities planning firm. Lewis will be responsible for the design services of the company’s nationwide offices, including western regional headquarters in Los Angeles.
Investment Firms
* John L. Austin has joined Charterhouse Investment Co. of Century City as vice president. He will be responsible for placing permanent loans on joint ventures originated by the firm for Copley Real Estate Advisors, an affiliate of New England Mutual Life Insurance Co.
* Dana D. Yates has joined Shuwa Investments Corp. as assistant general manager for the leasing division. Her new responsibilities include overseeing all marketing and leasing-related activities for Shuwa’s 1900 and 1901 Avenue of the Stars projects in Century City.
Builders/Developers
* Metropolitan Structures has named Nyal W. Leslie president. He will be responsible for all operations of the Los Angeles office. The company is managing general partner of Bunker Hill Associates, developer of the mixed-use California Plaza on Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles.
* William C. Fanning has been named president and chief operating officer of the Sickels Group. Fanning will direct the company’s operations, including acquisition, financing and sale of property. He will also oversee its development projects and asset management activities.
* Thomas G. Ostensen has become vice president of operations of Laguna Niguel-based Birtcher Construction. He will be responsible for all construction operations, including the development of construction systems and pre-construction activities.
* Jim Moore has joined Watt Enterprises, headquartered in Santa Monica, as senior vice president and group executive. Moore will be responsible for home building operations in San Diego, the Inland Empire and Phoenix. Watt Enterprises subsidiaries under his direction include Narcissa Homes, Watt Development, Watt Community Builders, Watt Homes/San Diego, Watt Hancock Homes, Watt Inland Empire and Baywood Development.
* John Hunter has been promoted to president of Watt Commercial Development Corp., the retail shopping center development subsidiary of Watt Commercial Properties Inc. The Santa Monica-based company has developed 40 community shopping centers in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties.
* Southwest Diversified Inc. of Irvine has announced the addition of Michael R. Engle to its staff as senior vice president and division manager of the company’s Signal Hill development. Engle will supervise all aspects of its mixed-use project, including the planning and construction of more than 1,000 residential units and a commercial center.
* Dianne M. Pote has been named vice president and corporate sales director of Sonju Development, parent company of AFCOM and Sonju Construction Co. Pote will direct the Seal Beach-based company’s marketing and sales activities and new project developments, supervise its budgets and monitor current projects.
Law Firms
* Fried, King, Holmes & August, a Century City-based corporate law firm that represents real estate developers and financial institutions, has announced the addition of two new associates: H. Mark Mersel and Jeffrey G. Huron.
Property Managers
* McMillin Investment Properties has promoted Gene R. Setula to vice president, property management. Based in National City, the firm is one of the multifaceted McMillin Companies with a portfolio of more than 40 properties.
