New Group Is Formed by Birtcher

Birtcher said Friday that it has joined two of the company’s development teams to form a new group called Birtcher Business Communities, which will acquire and develop major real estate projects combining shops, offices and hotels.

The two teams are Birtcher Equities, headed by Baron R. and Brandon R. Birtcher, grandsons of the company’s founder, and Birtcher Campbell Properties, headed by Robert M. Campbell.

The new entity will be responsible for Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Texas.

The Laguna Niguel-based developer said the two groups were combined to achieve greater efficiencies and not as a result of the real estate slump.

The new group will employ the same number of people--75--as the old, a spokesman said.

The new unit will be able to grab a larger piece of local markets and react more quickly to business opportunities, the company said.

Birtcher, one of the nation’s largest developers, builds offices, warehouses and stores across the U.S.