The executive management teams for the San Ramon, Calif.-based SummerHill Housing Group have had some movement in recent weeks.
SummerHill Homes and SummerHill Apartment Communities, both of which are part of the SummerHill Housing Group, announced executive management reorganization and promotions this month:
Chris Neighbor, who has been serving as SummerHill Housing Group’s executive vice president/managing director, has been promoted to the position of chief operating officer of SummerHill Homes.
Douglas L. McDonald, SummerHill Housing Group’s chief financial officer/executive vice president/managing director, has been named chief operating officer of SummerHill Apartment Communities.
Marjorie Szto, SummerHill Homes’ vice president, controller, has been named senior vice president – corporate finance and accounting for SummerHill Housing Group.
“We are fortunate to have achieved significant growth in both our for-sale and apartment-development businesses,” said Robert Freed, president and CEO, SummerHill Housing Group, in a release. “And, we have been addressing the challenges of this increased activity by hiring new talent and stretching our executive management team. The creation of these new positions will allow us to bring increased ‘horse power’ to our day-to-day operations, while staying keenly focused on the continued growth of our land pipeline.”
Marjorie Szto
Last year, SummerHill Homes celebrated its 40th anniversary in business with 5,234 single-family homes built or under construction. The company expects to build 1,000-plus homes between 2017 and 2018. The builder is currently under construction on new residential communities in the San Francisco Bay Area in Moraga, Los Gatos, Mountain View, Saratoga, Fremont, Pleasanton, Redwood City, Santa Clara, and Burlingame for a total
folio of more than 6,170 residential homes.
As the new COO of SummerHill Homes, Neighbor will have management responsibilities for land acquisition, land development, purchasing, construction, sales, escrow, marketing, market research and customer service. “Chris Neighbor has consistently performed at the highest level and he deserves much of the credit for our strong land pipeline. In addition, Chris has a great passion for homebuilding,” said Freed. “His passion, extensive experience and desire for success positions Chris for greatness in his new role.”
In her new role Szto will report directly to Freed and will be responsible for the financial and accounting operations for both SummerHill Homes and SummerHill Apartment Communities. These responsibilities range from financial statements to external/internal reporting to all accounting functions. “Marjorie Szto will work closely with me, Chris and Doug on managing the important financial position of both companies, said Freed. “We are extremely fortunate to have Marjorie ready, willing and able to step into her new role.”
Douglas L. McDonald
McDonald, in his new capacity as SummerHill Apartment Communities’ COO, will have management responsibilities for land acquisitions, finance, construction, asset management and asset dispositions. “Doug McDonald has been a great business partner for me during my entire tenure with the company,” said Freed. “Doug’s responsibilities have gone well beyond the traditional role of a Chief Financial Officer. He has been a key driver of our day-to-day operations, thus ensuring that we deliver consistently high levels of financial performance.
In 2016, SummerHill Apartment Communities completed several Silicon Valley luxury residential rental communities bringing the firm’s total portfolio to 2,245 apartment homes, including 481 on Mathilda apartment community in Sunnyvale, which celebrated its completion in early December. SummerHill Apartment Communities is slated to complete Villas on the Boulevard, a 186-unit apartment community in Santa Clara, in spring 2017. The company is also under construction on Origin, a 153-unit apartment project in Seattle, Washington.
In 2017-2018, SummerHill has plans to break ground on seven new apartment communities in California: 268 new residential units featuring a mix of apartments and condominiums in Burlingame; 694 residential units and 36,000 square feet of retail space near Milpitas BART Station; a 537-unit apartment community near the Lawrence Station Cal Train in Santa Clara; 151 residential units and 10,000 square feet of retail space in Santa Clara; a 211-unit apartment community in Mountain View; a 105-unit apartment community in Pasadena; and a 255-unit apartment community in Carlsbad for a total portfolio of 4,466 apartment units.
