Off the O.C. Market: The Birtcher Name
As part of a restructuring that echoes a continuing consolidation in the local real estate market, the Japanese owners of Birtcher Real Estate Ltd. have renamed the firm MBK Real Estate Ltd. and moved it from Laguna Niguel to Irvine.
Started as a small Santa Ana home builder by Fayette E. Birtcher in 1939, Birtcher grew to become one of the largest commercial builders on the West Coast. Now one of the nation’s major theater builders, Birtcher is best known for constructing the huge, blue-hued Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.
The name change to MBK Real Estate completes a revamp that began two years ago when Japanese trading concern Mitsui & Co. Ltd. took an 80% stake in the once family-owned company, said Michael Voss, MBK president.
The move was part of the increased consolidation throughout the Orange County real estate market as home builders struggle to survive.
“This shows Mitsui’s increased commitment to Southern California real estate and should end some confusion about what we are doing and what the Birtcher family is doing,” Voss said.
Members of the Birtcher family are now “passive” limited partners who own 20% of the venture and have a “very diminished role at this point in time,” Voss said.
Fayette’s sons, Ronald E. Birtcher, 66, and Arthur B. Birtcher, 56, stepped down as co-chairmen of the company two years ago but remain limited partners. Baron Birtcher, 36, Ronald’s son, remains head of the MBK senior housing group.
Still, the Birtchers remain in firm control of Birtcher Enterprises, Birtcher Property Services and Birtcher Venture Capital, wholly owned by the Birtcher family. The companies engage in property management and investment advice from their Laguna Niguel headquarters.
“There is a railroad track long and strong that goes from generation to generation here,” said Brandon Birtcher, the 42-year-old son of Ronald. “We are still going strong. This is just like a daughter going off to get married and changing her name. But she still carries the family with her.”
Brandon Birtcher is currently involved in a home building venture with Roger C. Hobbs to develop 400 lots in Chula Vista, Carlsbad and Fullerton.
Ron and Art Birtcher trace their building heritage to their grandfather Justus, a carpenter who came to Orange County from Philadelphia in 1908. The two brothers built expensive homes within a gated, six-acre family-owned compound in San Juan Capistrano, next-door to their parents’ home.
“The Birtchers were very much a family cloister, almost like a dynasty,” said Sanford Goodkin, real estate consultant in La Jolla. “They were pioneers in many ways. This is just part of the overall consolidation in the real estate market.”
Other Birtcher family members could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
MBK Real Estate has 538 employees in 20 offices.
The company has six wholly owned subsidiaries that all carry the MBK name. The company had $115 million in volume in construction projects in 1995 and expects to expand more heavily into shopping center and theater projects next year. MBK Homes plans to build 250 homes during 1996, concentrating on the move-up market.
The company’s current projects include 111 single-family homes in Corona, 80 condominiums in Huntington Beach, 360 homes in San Ramon and a 35-acre shopping center development in Riverside.
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From Birtcher to MBK: Key Events
1939: Birtcher Construction founded by Fayette Birtcher
1940s-1950s: Birtcher helps pioneer tilt-up construction technique
1970: Company enters joint venture with Southern Pacific as its sole in-house real estate development company, with properties in 20 states
1980: Now one of Southern California’s largest independent family-owned real estate development and construction firms, Birtcher is involved in developing 42 million square feet of projects.
1989: Birtcher named real estate developer of the year by National Assn. of Industrial Office Parks
1990: Company becomes Birtcher Real Estate Ltd., under joint venture formed by Birtcher family and Mitsui & Co.
1995: Mitsui purchases 80% ownership in Birtcher Real Estate, begins focusing on retail, housing and construction services
1996: Changes name to MBK Real Estate Ltd., and moves corporate headquarters from Laguna Niguel to Irvine
Profile: Michael H. Voss
Title: President, MBK Real Estate, Ltd. (formerly Birtcher Real Estate, Ltd.)
Previous position: Executive vice president of national finance, Birtcher Real Estate Ltd.
Age: 46
Credentials: Bachelor’s degree in economics from San Jose State, 1971; juris doctorate from Hastings College of Law, 1974
Background: Founded Voss, Cook & Thel, a Newport Beach-based real estate law firm, in 1978 and served as managing partner; provided outside counsel to various Birtcher companies before joining Birtcher Real Estate in 1986
Activities: Member of the Urban Land Institute, International Council of Shopping Centers, Young Presidents Organization and Policy Advisory Board at University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics
Residence: San Juan Capistrano
Personal: Married, two children, ages 18 and 14
Source: MBK Real Estate, Ltd.
