Oxnard Tycoon to Sell Most of Empire : Land: Foreign company will buy hotels, over 1,000 apartments and a slew of well-known properties from Martin V. ‘Bud’ Smith.
Real estate developer Martin V. “Bud” Smith confirmed Friday that he will sell most of his holdings in Ventura County--including the Oxnard Financial Plaza, six hotels, more than 1,000 apartment units and several restaurants--to a foreign-owned real estate investment company.
Although the financial terms were not disclosed, the deal is one of Ventura County’s largest real estate transactions in the past decade.
Smith, who owns more than 200 properties between Santa Maria and Calabasas--a portfolio that analysts valued at more than $150 million earlier this year--will sell most of his Oxnard-based real estate development empire to Tiger Real Estate Fund, a partnership with offices in Manhattan and Los Angeles.
In a press release, Tiger Real Estate representatives vowed “to operate the portfolio in a manner consistent with the philosophy of Martin V. ‘Bud’ Smith.” Company representatives did not return phone calls Friday.
Martin V. Smith & Associates has developed some of Ventura County’s most notable properties, including the 21-story Financial Plaza Tower--the county’s tallest building--and the Fisherman’s Wharf restaurant and retail complex at Channel Islands Harbor, which will both be sold.
Smith has informed the company’s 975 employees that their jobs will end Feb. 29. The letters were accompanied by a statement from Tiger Real Estate ensuring the workers that the new owner would try to hire most of them back, according to Richard Spencer, executive vice president of Smith & Associates.
Smith, 79, could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. But Spencer, Smith’s top assistant for more than 20 years, stressed that his boss has no intention of retiring and has “no financial problems whatsoever.”
Spencer said Smith is keeping one of his earliest purchases--the Wagon Wheel bowling alley and motel complex near the Ventura Freeway in Oxnard--and plans to redevelop the property.
“He’s scaling back,” Spencer said. “I think what he still has left to do is a great challenge by itself. Redevelopment of the Wagon Wheel is, in and of itself, a tremendous challenge.”
In addition to the 50-acre Wagon Wheel area, which has an estimated worth of about $30 million, Smith will retain 17 of his real estate properties, including the Carriage Square Shopping Center in Oxnard and several holdings in Santa Maria in northern Santa Barbara County.
But most of the empire Smith labored more than 50 years to build will be sold, including the landmark Lobster Trap Restaurant at Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, the Casa Sirena Marina Resort near Oxnard, the Country Inn hotels in Camarillo, Port Hueneme and Calabasas, the Santa Maria Hotel, the Danish Country Inn in Solvang, the Del Norte Inn in Camarillo and the Financial Plaza Hilton.
Moreover, Smith will sell dozens of commercial and industrial buildings--including the 15-story Ventura County National Bank Tower, which is next to the Financial Plaza Tower. And he will sell more than 1,000 apartment units, mostly near Channel Islands Harbor.
Despite months of speculation about the future of Smith’s businesses, some of Smith’s employees said they were surprised--and worried--by the deal.
“I think it’s kind of scary,” said one hotel worker, who asked not to be identified. “We’re not sure what this other company is going to do.”
Other workers said they remain hopeful that Smith’s successor will treat them fairly because they considered Smith to be an honorable employer who would not have otherwise made the deal.
“I have been working here for five years, and I can’t tell you how proud I am to work for Bud Smith,” said Daniel Lima, manager of the Lobster Trap. “I will work for the new owners for a long time if they ask me to. I’m sure they will be good to us.”
Oxnard leaders said the decision by Smith--the biggest developer in Oxnard history--to sell most of his holdings will surely affect the city’s future.
“We’re talking about a major employer in this city,” said Councilman Andres Herrera, who once worked for Smith managing a hamburger stand across from Santa Clara High School.
Councilman Dean Maulhardt said he is eager to meet with representatives of Tiger Real Estate, which invests and manages more than $750 million for public and private pension funds, to determine its plans for the properties in Oxnard--and for the former Smith employees.
“Those people helped make Bud Smith a success,” Maulhardt said. “Hopefully, they are taken care of. If they are hired back, that’s the best thing that could happen for Oxnard.”
