• EV Realty, Inc., a San Francisco-based EV infrastructure development platform purpose-built to maximize electric power availability for critical commercial fleets, hired Ben Prum as director, development. He will oversee the strategic development, de-risking and commercialization of the company’s growing pipeline of multi-fleet EV charging hub projects. Prum comes to EV Realty with more than 12 years of experience in commercial real estate development and six years of experience in EV charging development. He most recently served as development lead at Tesla, where he was responsible for large-scale site acquisitions and the development of Tesla’s Supercharger network for the Greater Los Angeles region. 

• Matthew Williamson has joined HOK’s San Francisco studio as engineering practice leader. Williamson brings more than 25 years of experience in engineering, planning, design and construction management across private and public sectors. He has overseen a breadth of project typologies including high-rise buildings, clean-rooms, laboratories and data centers.

• Wellpointe Inc., a California leader in residential assisted living, hired Frank Scicchitano as its first director of people operations as it continues its growth in California. Scicchitano will oversee all aspects of Freno-based Wellpointe’s people and talent strategy, including the build-out of the People Ops infrastructure necessary for rapid growth enablement. He brings more than a decade of experience in director- and manager-level roles for publicly traded companies, such as Altria and Curation Foods. 

• US Metro Group, a California-based, second-generation janitorial firm specializing in virus eradication and safety, has leveraged the Small Business Administration’s 504 Program to purchase a 28,000-square-foot building in Carson for $1.6 million. The company was guided by Dean Aloe, SVP at TMC Financing. 

• San Diego Canyonlands and Ocean Discovery Institute announced a $3-million, three-year initiative to complete the Manzanita Greening and Canyon Health Project, lessening wildfire and flood risks, helping wildlife thrive, and enhancing community access to nature-based learning and recreation. Funds were awarded by the California Natural Resources Agency Urban Greening Program. The restored canyon will enhance the region’s water quality, air quality, biodiversity, access to nature, climate resiliency, and property values. 

• Green Street, the Newport Beach-based provider of actionable commercial real estate intelligence and analytics, has partnered with Snowflake to engage with its Data Cloud to deliver real-time U.S. and Pan-European CRE intelligence in an easily accessible format. New data and analytics are promptly reflected in Snowflake. In addition, market participants can connect to their company’s preferred integrations, including BI/dashboarding tools, internal databases and more. 

• Macerich signed 191 leases for 1.4 million square feet in the second quarter. Year-to-date, the company signed leases for 2.4 million square feet, which is 34% more square footage signed than during the same period last year. Portfolio-wide occupancy hit 92.6% at the end of Q2, an 80-basis-point gain compared to a year ago, and a 40-bp increase over Q1. 

• Pacific Retail Capital Partners (PRCP) has launched #ExtendAloha, a dedicated campaign to raise awareness and funds for those impacted by the devastating fires that broke out earlier this month on the island of Maui. The campaign will ask those around the country to wear “Aloha” or floral-patterned shirts each Friday going forward and by encouraging contributions to DTL Foundation’s dedicated Maui Fire Relief Fund, in which PRCP has committed to matching the first $10,000 raised. 

• Equity Union Real Estate acquired an additional commercial building in Southern California with 14,650 square feet of mixed office and medical use space located at 4353 Park Terrace Dr. in Westlake Village. The building will house the Westlake Village branch of the real estate brokerage, as well as additional tenants. Approximately 8,000 square feet will be dedicated as the real estate firm’s 11th location, including 18 private offices, 18 additional desk spaces for agents’ individual use, conference rooms, a large training room and additional shared desk space for agents to use who are on the move. 

Connect Orange County will take place Sept. 27, 2023 at VEA | Newport Beach Marriott in Newport Beach, concurrently with Connect Healthcare Real Estate on Sept. 27 and 28. Click here to register for Connect Orange County, and here to register for Connect Healthcare Real Estate.