Hall of Fame Inducts Osgood and Meyer

Two titans in Orange County’s real estate industry were inducted into the California Building Industry Hall of Fame last week in San Francisco. Feted was Roland Osgood, senior vice president of Centex Homes in Irvine, and Michael L. Meyer, retired founder of E&Y; Kenneth Leventhal Real Estate Group’s Orange County office in Newport Beach.

The Hall of Fame recognizes those who have made “exceptional contributions in service and leadership to their communities and to the industry,” said Sherm Harmer, the group’s chairman and president of the Olson Co.’s San Diego division. Of the 109 already in the Hall of fame, 17 are from Orange County.

Osgood, who also has served as an executive with the Irvine Co. and Kaufman & Broad Home Corp., has spent more than 30 years in Orange County’s building industry. During his career, he fostered partnerships between the development community and government agencies. He also obtained tax-exempt bond financing to build affordable rental units in Irvine and helped come up with a plan that developers used for creating open space and parkland in Orange County.

Meyer, who stepped down last year, helped builders become more sophisticated in business planning.

The awards were presented at a fund-raiser for the foundation. The group, serving as the educational and research arm of the California Building Industry Assn., has provided more than $1.5 million for scholarships and grants since 1978. A permanent gallery of Hall of Fame inductees is expected to open by December at the University of Southern California.