Irvine Co. Forms Subsidiary for Community Development

The Irvine Co. said Wednesday it is forming a separate firm of its community development division. The unit, which is responsible for the design, development and marketing of all residential communities on the Irvine Ranch, will remain under the Irvine Co.’s corporate control and ownership, but will have its own president.

Irvine Co. President Tom Nielsen said formation of the new company, to be called the Irvine Community Development Co., is part of an ongoing effort to decentralize the privately held firm’s diverse operations and give individual divisions a greater sense of authority and accountability.

C. Bradley Olson, formerly vice president of the division, has been named president of the development company, which will perform the same operations as the division, Nielsen said. The new company will retain the division’s 110 employees.

Nielsen said that by giving Olson the title of president he hopes to strengthen Olson’s position in his dealings with government officials, builders and financial institutions. “We’re giving the division its own identity as a new company because of the scale and complexity of its corporate mission, which has broadened significantly in recent years,” Nielsen said in a prepared statement.

Olson will spearhead the Irvine Co.’s campaign to give a greater number of home builders the opportunity to construct projects on the Irvine Ranch, Nielsen said. Also, he said, Olson has the responsibility of determining the extent to which the Irvine Co. will finance utilities, roads and support services, such as child care, in new communities.

The Irvine Community Development Co. joins Irvine Pacific, the Irvine Co.’s home-building arm, and the 6-month-old Irvine Industrial, Research and Development Co. as Irvine Co. operations doing business as wholly owned firms.

These three companies, along with four divisions, will report directly to William H. McFarland, Irvine Co. executive vice president of operations.