Bridge Development Expands in L.A.

LOS ANGELES—Bridge Development Partners has hired Tom Ashcraft as SVP. The announcement comes after the developer announced expansion plans, including development of 1 million square feet of speculative industrial space. In the new position, Ashcraft will focus on entitlements and manage developments in California. He will be based in the firm's Los Angeles office, which opened earlier this year under the leadership of Brian Wilson.

“I have known Brian Wilson, who Bridge hired in March as the principal of California operations, for over seven years,” Ashcraft tells GlobeSt.com about his reason for joining the company. “I have great respect for what Brian has accomplished in the past and knew he would be successful in his future endeavors.  Secondly, I had researched the company and learned a great deal about Ron Frain, Steve Poulos and Tony Pricco, who are all very accomplished in the industry. When I had the chance to meet with Steve and Tony, I felt that they would be great people to work with. Finally, Bridge is a growing company with an entrepreneurial spirit, which was very attractive to me. Their partnership with Hunt Realty Investments provides the company with the capital to continue to grow the platform.”

Ashcraft joins Bridge Development from Lewis Group of Cos., where he managed a 525-acre master-planned project in Rialto, CA. He brings 13 years of experience to the firm, and a special expertise in acquisition, entitlement and development. In his career, he has competed due diligence for more than 900 acres of real estate, and has overseen entitlements for 1.7 million square feet of industrial projects.

Ashcraft will leverage his experience to help Bridge Development carry out its California expansion. “My overall goal is to find the right opportunities in our market and execute on those projects,” says Ashcraft. “My previous work experience included many difficult development projects, but we were able to unlock value by solving problems. We hope to accomplish the same thing here at Bridge. Our immediate goal in California is to grow the pipeline of projects under development. We will break ground on our first two buildings totaling 879k square feet in Fontana, CA, in September. We are working on a couple more transactions that will grow our pipeline in the near future. It is a very exciting time to be part of this company.”

The Chicago-based firm has been focused on expanding its business in the Southern California market since opening its office here in March. Since that time, it has purchased of 40 acres in Fontana, CA, where it plans to build 1 million square feet of industrial facilities.