IRVINE, CA—After a 14-year career with AvalonBay Communities, Christopher Payne is joining Sares-Regis Group as president of multifamily development and will become a partner in the diversified real estate development and management company.

Payne also will be taking on key management responsibilities currently held by SRG managing director Geoffrey Stack, who gradually will be scaling back from day-to-day involvement with the company he co-founded in 1993.

“Chris has had an extremely successful career at AvalonBay, running the multifamily development business in Southern California. This includes the acquisition, entitlement, design and construction of various multifamily product types for both urban and suburban locations throughout the six-county region during his tenure in their Newport Beach office,” Stack said.

Even though SRG is privately held and AvalonBay is a publicly traded real estate investment trust, Stack said they are “similar in their integrated platforms of development, construction, investments and property management.”

Previously, Payne managed new development activity for Belmont Corp. in Southern California and began his career with Greystone as a project manager for new home developments. Payne received a B.S. in business administration / Finance from California State University, Fullerton in 1991, and a masters in real estate development from the University of Southern California in 1996.

“Chris will bring a wealth of experience to our multifamily development and construction business. He will become a partner in the firm over the next several years and will take on the management responsibilities which I currently hold. Chris is an outstanding individual of great integrity, strong work ethic and exceptional leadership skills. He will be a tremendous addition to the SRG team,” Stack said.

SRG was formed through the strategic alliance of two West Coast real estate companies. The merger of The Regis Group, a residential development firm that Stack launched in 1977, and The Sares Company with its principals John Hagestad and William Thormahlen has provided expertise in all facets of residential and commercial real estate.

With approximately 600 employees, SRG is among the leading developers and managers of commercial and multifamily real estate in the western United States.It has developed or acquired 40 million sq. ft. of commercial projects valued at $4 billion. Sares-Regis Group is California's leading privately held developer of LEED-certified apartments and commercial buildings.

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