FORGE WEST
US Real Estate Focus - International Coverage
Welcome to Forge West, an independent real estate consulting and advisory firm that focuses on real estate investments in the US, specialized on the West Coast, working with cross-boarder international capital.
Since 2015, Forge West team has advised, partnered and managed numerous funds, developers and investors. Our core principal is to being transparent, deliver trust and provide professional advice and consulting services to our partners and clients.
FORGE WEST APPROACH
Making Difference
UNDERWRITING BROKERAGE & CAPITAL MARKET ADVISOR
With our focus on US West Cost and Gateway Cities and extensive local network, we uniquely positioned to:
Identify suitable acquisition and partnership opportunities based on the investors’ investment strategy
Focus on off-market deals through the extensive network of industry contacts and proprietary relationships
Conduct initial screening and risk assessment
Advise market appropriate and creative asset and platform level disposition and partnership
Consultation on capital structuring and investors management
FINANCIAL ADVISING INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
With years of experience, our team has the capabilities, experience and expertise to work with our partners and investors investment evaluation:
Feasibility study
Site study
Market research
Financial appraisal
Investment structure and funding arrangements
Risk assessment
Exit strategy
Conduct due diligence
Structure the acquisition from the outset which would facilitate the future exit strategy
Facilitate negotiation and execution of transaction documents
Prepare investment proposal for formal approval
ASSET AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
We understand execution is just as important as how we invest, and we work to build long term partnerships and relationships, and maximizing return and value.
We partner with strong local developers, builders and operators that are responsible for day-to-day execution and we assist in monitoring in the following:
Business plan and positioning
Development / re-positioning concept
Budgeting
Oversee on-site development, operation, leasing, marketing and asset enhancement initiatives
Implement policies and standard operating procedures
THE TEAM
Where the Passion Begins
SKIP WHITNEY
Partner / Co-Founder
Mr. Whitney, a native of San Francisco, has consistently been successful in advising commercial and investment properties on behalf of his clients throughout the United States and the Pacific Rim, as well as China and Southeast Asia. He is Executive Vice President, Partner, and Head of China Service Group of Kidder Mathews, one of the leading independent commercial real estate firms on the West Coast, with 750 people strong in 21 offices, annually performing transactions of $7 billion, executing 1,500 appraisals, and managing a portfolio of over 40 million square feet of space.
The China Services Group that Mr. Whitney founded and leads is the only China inbound investment focused cross-Pacific real estate group in the U.S. The group offers advisory, brokerage, and property management services throughout the West Coast of the United States.
Mr. Whitney has been involved in investment transactions worth over $2.5 billion and hundreds of lease and sale transactions.
As a key influencer and advisor in Bay Area and China relations, he is the co-founder of Bay Area Council’s China Initiative and signatory to the Council’s Memorandum of Understanding with China Yangtze Council. He also co-founded San Francisco City’s economic initiative ChinaSF, with former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Mr. Whitney was the founding co-partner of the Bryant Street Pier International Cruise Terminal, a 750,000 square feet mixed use project, which was to be built at Pier 30-32 of San Francisco in 2001. Other partners included PSA / Maple Leaf of Singapore, China Maritime Transport of Hong Kong-Taiwan and Lend Lease of Australia.
On behalf of the former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Mr. Whitney handled the real estate negotiations for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). He was one of the driving forces for San Francisco’s Mission Bay Science and Technology Park, a 12 million square foot mixed-use development project, consisting of commercial, residential, life science, cleantech, IT, and UCSF research center.
In addition, he is the Principal of Sanuk Mak, a family office which is involved with the wine and entertainment industry.
LIANA YANG
Partner / Co-Founder
Ms. Yang has over 15 years of banking, real estate investment experience, responsible for screening, evaluating, investing and executing real estate investment projects.
Ms. Yang was previously a Managing Director of Pinnacle Real Estate Capital Partners, a real estate private equity fund focused on the Asian market, and an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund, responsible for asset acquisitions and ongoing asset management advisory in China and Asia Pacific.
Ms. Yang started her career as an analyst at UBS Investment Bank, covering stock issuance and corporate mergers in the UK and China markets.
Ms. Yang led the investment consortium in the acquisition, execution and management, as well as the sale of the 2.2M sq.ft. life science mixed-use development project at Oyster Point, South San Francisco
Since 2004, Ms. Yang’s main responsibilities have shifted to the evaluation, investment and execution of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund’s projects in China and Hong Kong. Ms. Yang has participated in real estate projects with a total value of more than $1.5 billion, including the acquisition of Hong Kong Shama Serviced Apartments Platform; Sino-Ocean and a number of Chinese real estate developers’ pre-IPO equity raising, as well as a number of asset acquisitions and JV projects covering residential, retail, office, hotel, serviced apartments and mixed-use development projects.
Ms. Yang was seconded to China Investment Corporation (“CIC”) in 2008-2010, worked on its A$700MM investment into Goodman Group, a A-REIT in Australia and consortium investment of approx. US$3Bn Chapter-11 restructuring investment in General Growth Properties. Since 2009, Ms. Yang has also personally put together club investments in 2 medical office developments and a residential investment in California.
Ms. Yang holds a BA in Mathematics and Computation from University of Oxford and Master of Arts.
Ms. Yang is fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
JEFFREY HOOPES
Senior Advisor
Jeff Hoopes is chairman emeritus and former chief executive officer (CEO) of Swinerton, a 100% employee-owned company that has been providing commercial construction services throughout the United States since 1888. Hoopes worked at Swinerton for 35 years and is a respected leader in the AEC industry widely known for his knack for building connections, relationships, and client-centric and people first approach to business. Throughout his decades-long tenure with Swinerton, Hoopes progressed through a wide range of roles, gaining deep insight into all facets of industry operations and project management. Having spent years on jobsites, he is a skilled builder in his own right and brings a deep respect for field experience. All of this contributed to Jeff leaving a lasting impression at Swinerton with his “Dream Big” mantra that led to an unprecedented explosion of growth and expansion for Swinerton into new geographies, service offerings, and lines of business for Swinerton while he was CEO.
Mr. Hoopes currently serves on Swinerton’s board of directors and the board of directors for Katerra. He previously served on the board of the Bay Area Council, the Young Presidents’ Organization, Habitat for Humanity, and the Trust for Public Land Advisory Board. Through his personal commitment to environmental stewardship, he helped lead conservation efforts for parks and open spaces. He was a member of the building and civic communities of the San Francisco Bay Area and is affiliated with the Associated General Contractors, the Boy Scouts of America, and the City of Hope.
He was acknowledged for his contributions to the construction industry and to the development of others by being honored at the 2018 Boy Scouts of America Annual Construction Industry Lunch-O-Ree as the “Good Scout” award recipient and he was named the honoree of the 2019 “Spirit of Life®” award after being nominated by The City of Hope Northern California Real Estate & Construction Council.
An avid outdoorsman, he enjoys fly fishing and harvesting the natural bounty of Northern California with a family winemaking enterprise. He earned a BS in civil engineering from the University of California, Davis, and an MBA from Brigham Young University in Utah.
OUR PROJECTS
Since 2015, Forge West team has provided services to a variety of businesses. On every project we undertake, our most important objective is to relate with clients/partners and understand their core necessities and goals. Below are some examples of the work we’ve done - take a look, and get in touch to learn more.
THE LANDING AT OYSTER POINT
South San Francisco, CA
42-Acre, 2.25M SF Redevelopment Site
$300M+
Represented the Seller Oyster Point Development, a joint venture led by a major residential developer in China in the sale of The Landing at Oyster Point in South San Francisco, a ±42-acre redevelopment site entitled for 2.25M SF of office and R&D space. The property currently contains ±400,000 SF light industrial space, a hotel, restaurant and a 235-berth marina. It is the largest fully-entitled waterfront development site in the Bay Area. The buyer Kilroy Realty Group plans to develop, over multiple phases, a state-of-the-art laboratory and office complex that will eventually encompass 11 buildings. The entire project is estimated to cost $2 billion to build.
300 DE HARO
San Francisco, CA
Entitled Suite Living Project Located at Highly Sought After Potrero Hill Neighborhood
Located on the corner of 16th and De Haro Streets, a 26,907 sf parcel site that benefits from a 68 height limit and favorable UMU zoning. The Property provides a rare opportunity of prime located site that allows for new residential, group housing, or mixed-use development while enjoying cash flow from existing tenancy.
The Project obtained city approvals in December 2021 to build an 11-story building with 450 micro suites.
The Property is located in the amenity-rich Potrero Hill/Showplace Square area, just one block from Whole Foods and in close proximity to major employers such as AirBnB, Pinterest, Dropbox, Adobe, Advent, Invitae, California College of the Arts, UCSF, UBER and Zynga. The Property is just blocks away from Mission Bay and the new Golden State Warriors arena, Chase Center, the new Warriors home will offer an 18,000 seat arena and approximately 580,000 sf of new office/lab space and 100,000 sf of new retail space.
1717 BRONSON
Apartment and Suite Living Project at the Heart of Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA
1717 Bronson is a twenty-three story residential building, with 265 co-living beds and 75 apartment units (377 total beds), with extensive fitness amenity including sky deck pool and spa.
Located in Bronson Ave, adjacent to Hollywood Blvd and right next to US-101 highway, two blocks from Netflix campus.
Historically considered the entertainment capital of the world, Hollywood has had a recent resurgence in both employment and resident growth with the addition of 1.4mm sf of office and over 2,000 residential units since 2014, and with another 1.3mm sf office and 2,800 residential units under construction.
Entitlements targeted for October 2022, with start of construction targeted for beginning of 2023 and completion in Q4 2024.
AMERICAN TIN CANNERY HOTEL
Pacific Grove, CA
5 Acre Hotel and Retail Development Site
Located across the street from the Pacific Ocean and Monterey Bay Aquarium which welcomes 2.2 million visitors per year. The 5 acre development will include two luxurious hotel wings and 20,000 sqft of Street Retail Space in renovated Historic American Tin Cannery building.
NORTH VILLAGE HEALDSBURG
Healdsburg, CA
32 Acre entitled mixed-used Development
Located in the heart of Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County, one of the top sub-markets in Wine Country. The development will include 108 luxurious 4.5 star hotel rooms, 221 upscale senior independent living units, 30 unit work force housing site. Mixed-use site with 50 multi-family and live work units and 12,000 sqft commercial retail and maker space.
KENWOOD/GRAYWOOD RANCH
Kenwood, CA
360-acre Fully-entitled Resort Development Site
360-acre fully-entitled land, with infrastructure in place, for mixed-use development of a luxury 50-key resort hotel & Spa, 16 estate residential home sites, approved winery & tasting room and vineyards in the heart of Northern California’s wine country.
MAYACAMA GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
Santa Rosa, CA
675-Acre Country Club Equity Investment
Mayacama is a 675-acre country club with golf course, wine club, resort and residence in Northern California’s Wine Country. It’s a Global Top 50 golf course and one of the best private country clubs in the West Coast of the U. S. We helped the ownership recapitalize the asset with investment from Chinese investors.
MAHAMAN (GUENOC VALLEY PROJECT)
Napa & Lake County, CA
23,000 Acre Mixed-use Development
23,000 acre luxury development, a collection of small, ultra-luxury resorts, each with exclusive residences and unrivaled amenities designed by renown architects Zaha Hadid, Howard Backen, Jean Michel Gathy and Tadao Ando, among others.
GREAT EAGLE
San Francisco, CA
350,000 SF Hotel & Residential Development Site
Pacific Eagle (part of Great Eagle Group and The Langham Hotel, one of China’s leading real estate and hospitality companies based in Hong Kong) acquired 555 Howard Street in Downtown San Francisco. We advised Pacific Eagle on the purchase of the properties on either side, 547 and 557 Howard Street, so that the three parcels can be assembled for a large-scale mixed-use development. The properties will be re-developed as a 350-foot tower with residential and hotel elements. The location is next to the new Transbay Terminal, which is the center of many new major developments currently underway in San Francisco, including Salesforce Tower, Oceanwide Center, etc.
LANDSEA GROUP
Dublin, CA
9-acre Fully Entitled Land for Residential Development
Represented Buyer Landsea Group in the acquisition of a 9-acre land slated for 181 single-family homes and town homes.
CREATE WORLD INTERNATIONAL
Seattle, WA
Residential Development Site
Represented China-based conglomerate in the purchase of a 1.18-acre site with plans for 175 apartments and 125 condos. One year later, represented the same Buyer to acquire another site of 14,387 SF to develop a 26-story, 242-unit apartment building in Seattle, WA.
ASCEND
Lagoon Valley, CA
Ascend is an approved 50-acre commercial development site with 700,000 to 1,000,000 square feet of class “A” office space in seven, four-story buildings. Surrounded by 1,200 acres of permanently protected open space, including the 470-acre Lagoon Valley Park, 100-acre lake and connected to a regional trail system, Ascend provides an amenity-rich outdoor experience alongside your day-to-day work life. Come work where you unwind to be productive and inspired.
OUR PARTNERS AND CLIENTS
Collaborative Efforts - Global Coverage
