Chief of Signal Landmark Resigns to Start Company : Developers: Peter B. Denniston quits after the Koll Co. is hired to manage Signal’s buildings and development projects.

The president and chief executive of developer Signal Landmark said Tuesday that he has resigned to start a consulting firm after Signal’s parent company hired an outside firm to oversee Signal’s operations.

Peter B. Denniston, 38, joined Irvine-based Signal Landmark a little more than two years ago. But parent company Henley Properties Inc. in June hired The Koll Co., a Newport Beach developer, to manage its buildings and development projects.

Koll hired about 20 Signal Landmark employees and fired about 25 others.

Denniston said he could have remained as chief executive officer “of a much smaller company. Or I could go out on my own. I chose to go out on my own.”

Signal Landmark’s biggest project is the controversial Bolsa Chica 5,700-home residential development in a wetlands area of Huntington Beach.

Denniston said Tuesday his consulting firm will advise developers on how to get government approvals for their projects and how to rescue troubled real estate projects. The company, Denniston Realty Group in Newport Beach, plans eventually to get into development work.

“Clearly we’re in a recession in Southern California in real estate,” he said. “But that creates opportunities for a consulting business like this.”

Real estate observers said Denniston created a splash when he arrived at Signal Landmark in 1988, promising the company would increase its development activity in Southern California. But except for the Bolsa Chica project, they said, Signal Landmark kept a relatively low profile. Denniston noted, however, that the company built five industrial parks and several office buildings during his tenure.

Denniston acknowledges that the Koll deal could open up new opportunities for Signal Landmark under Koll Co. Chairman Donald M. Koll, who was named president of Henley in June.

“I think (Henley Properties Inc. Chairman Michael D.) Dingman was looking at something that would add to investors’ perception of the value of the stock,” Denniston said. “Don Koll can do that; he’s well-known and well-respected.” Henley is a publicly held firm based in New Hampshire.

“Being allied with Koll will also expose Signal Landmark to more deals,” Denniston added. “And there were economies of scale that were realized by folding the operation into The Koll Co.”

The deal also makes sense for Koll. With fewer buildings to construct because of the slump in the commercial real estate market, Koll needs to find other businesses--such as managing other people’s property--to tide it over during slow times.

Koll receives a management fee from Henley for overseeing the Signal Landmark properties and a share of Henley’s profits under the deal.