SAN DIEGO—As part of Kidder Mathews' aggressive growth strategy in San Diego, it has acquired StepStone Real Estate Services, a San Diego asset and property management firm. StepStone has a portfolio of 600,000 square feet of retail, office, and mixed-use properties, and has been providing asset, advisory, and property management services in the San Diego Market for 20 years.

Kidder Mathews, a fast-growing West Coast commercial real estate firm with three offices in the Bay Area expanded into Southern California opening their San Diego office in Del Mar Heights in January when they recruited eight veteran top producing San Diego brokers. The firm's typical brand format is a full-service offering including brokerage, property management, and valuation advisory services for all commercial property types. Prior to opening the San Diego office, Kidder Mathews was managing 800,000 square feet of biotech space in La Jolla. The acquisition of StepStone fits with the firm's plan to expand their property management service line, and StepStone's particular strength in retail properties compliments Kidder's retail growth strategy.

The StepStone group joining Kidder Mathews consists of founder and well-known San Diego commercial real estate professional, Jack Naliboff, Kathy Giraldo Carlson, Mark Vallecorsa, and four additional StepStone employees. "The group's expertise will be helpful as we expand further into Orange County and Los Angeles", said Mark Read, Kidder's San Diego managing partner.

Naliboff is an industry veteran with over 30 years in commercial real estate. He holds the prestigious designations of Senior Certified Shopping Center Manager (SCSM), Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX), and he will be a partner at Kidder Mathews. Prior to founding StepStone, he was a SVP with John Burnham & Company where he managed a portfolio of more than 3.5 million square feet.

Carlson has been named vice president at Kidder Mathews. She has more than 20 years of property and operations management expertise. Prior to her tenure at StepStone, she was with Lincoln Property Company. Carlson holds the designation of Certified Property Manager (CPM).

Vallecorsa, will serve as senior property manager and financial analyst for the firm. Along with his strong accounting background, he is a licensed California real estate broker.

Some of the key projects included in StepStone's 600,000 square foot portfolio are:

The Shops at La Jolla Village - a 165,000 square foot mixed-use project

Coronado Plaza - a 50,000 square foot mixed-use property

Bridgeworks - a 18,569 square foot retail property

1Mission - a 24,000 square foot urban mixed-use property

Kidder Mathews is one of the largest independently owned commercial real estate firms on the West Coast, with over 450 real estate professionals and staff in 10 offices in Washington, Oregon, and California. Kidder Mathews offers a complete range of brokerage, appraisal, property management, consulting, sustainability, and project and construction management services for all property types. The firm performs $3.2 billion in transactions, manages 30 million square feet of space, and conducts 1,300 appraisals annually.