NEWPORT BEACH, CA—William R. “Bill” Halford, who was CEO of Bixby Land Co., has passed away. He was 58.

Halford, a fourth-generation Bixby and great-grandson of George Bixby, started at Bixby Land Co. as a board director in 1994. He was named the firm's eighth president and CEO in 2006 and immediately began reshaping the then 110-year-old privately held company into a contemporary real estate investor, developer and operator.

Halford installed Bixby's current executive team early on and was instrumental in changing the company culture and strategic direction for the firm. The company's real estate portfolio was repositioned through the disposition of non-strategic assets to create a homogenous investment portfolio of institutional-quality office and industrial properties.

GlobeSt.com spoke with Halford many times over the years to get his seasoned perspective on the commercial real estate market in Southern California and other parts of the country. Some of the more notable discussions included an interview in August 2016 about Habitat, the former 262,000-square-foot Kawasaki USA headquarters in Irvine that Bixby Land Co. had planned to redevelop into a “pinnacle” creative-office campus, but was instead built to the specs of the new automotive tenant, Karma Automotive; an April 2014 Q&A about his mentors and advice to young people starting in the business; and a talk about the 33.7 North project in Tustin, which took an obsolete industrial building and transformed it into creative-office space with a mezzanine component that was uncommon Orange County.

“Bill's vision and ability to motivate people to perform at a level higher than they may have thought possible was instrumental in establishing the investment performance and integrated services platform that today defines Bixby Land Co.,” said Aaron Hill, president of Bixby, in a prepared statement. “His leadership has made an immense impact on the company and has left it positioned for future success.”

Halford also set in motion a value-add investment strategy focused on the redesign and development of creative-office projects. As an early adopter in the creative- office movement, Bixby created stylish outdoor amenities areas and energized work environments.

Bixby has since completed over 30 creative-office buildings throughout California and in the Pacific Northwest. The firm also recently partnered with AXA Investment Managers–Real Assets, a property-portfolio and asset manager in Europe, to acquire $400 million in industrial properties in the Western US.

“We have lost an inspiring leader, mentor and friend, and will continue to honor him by carrying his legacy of achievement throughout the organization as we move forward,” added Hill. “Bill was an extraordinary person who brought his creativity, passion and energy to the company, and it will be forever better for his contributions.”

Halford was an active leader in the Southern California real estate industry as well. He served as a catalyst for and chairman of the Real Estate Advisory Board and the Dean's Advisory Board for the Center for Real Estate at the Paul Merage School of Business at University of California, Irvine.

Halford was also a member of the Advisory Board for the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at University of California, Berkeley. He was the recipient of the Good Scout Award by the Orange County Council of the Boy Scouts of America and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Center for Real Estate at the Paul Merage School of Business at UCI.

Halford was a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara and completed advanced studies in real estate at Harvard and MIT.

He is survived by his wife Cindy Halford, daughter Ali Halford, son Bixby Halford mother Suzy Halford and sister Heidi Halford.

Instant Insights /

Development Pioneer Bill Halford Passes Away

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