Irvine Co., Hines Name New Execs

[IMGCAP(2)]Hines has named vice president and partner Paul Twardowski to head the firm's Orange County Investment and Development Office in Irvine, taking on the duties formerly handled by Holte. In addition to those moves, the Irvine Co. has promoted Steve Case to executive vice president of Office Properties from his former post as a senior vice president for leasing.

The Irvine Co. Office Properties division owns and operates 475 properties from San Diego to the Silicon Valley. Wheeler, who joined the Irvine Co. in July 2003 as senior vice president of asset management for Office Properties, became president in 2007 and has overseen the division's expansion throughout the state, notes Richard Gilchrist, president of the Irvine Co.'s Investment Properties Group.

Holte, who spent more than 20 years at Hines, most recently was one of four regional partners responsible for development projects, new investments and asset management in the Western US. He was responsible for development of the first two California office buildings to be pre-certified under the LEED Core & Shell program, as well as a new office campus in Irvine developed under the nation's first Green Development Fund with CalPERS.

Case, in his new role, will continue to lead the leasing team, as well as expand his involvement in operations and other Office Properties division activities. He has been a senior vice president with the division since 2004.

Twardowski, an 11-year veteran with Hines, will continue to oversee the firm's investments in San Diego, the latest being La Jolla Commons, a 13-story, LEED-CS Gold certified office building. He will join a Hines Orange County team including project managers Roger DeWames and Ray Lawler to seek new opportunities and manage Hines' current projects in the area, according to a company announcement.

Hines projects in Southern California include the 266,000-square-foot 2211 Michelson office building in Irvine, California's first multi-tenant office building to be certified under the USGBC's LEED-CS Silver designation, which was completed in 2007. Hines executive vice president and West Region CEO Jim Buie, commenting on Twardowski's appointment, says that the company has "a long-term commitment to Orange County, and ambitious plans for both the Orange County and San Diego markets.