Pete Garcia & David Malmuth

Mixed-use developments are not for everywhere and are not for everybody, but if they're done in the right location with the right execution, they will be a financial success, and also be successful in terms of building a community.

Pete Garcia and David Malmuth are partners at I.D.E.A. Partners, LLC, have served as initiators of projects that have had substantial transformational impacts in the community and are part of a growing trend toward mixed-use developments in urban areas.

The I.D.E.A. District is a 93-acre sustainable, mixed-use development in Downtown San Diego’s East Village neighborhood that is driven by a design-services job cluster. The District is a living laboratory that fosters creative and collaborative energy in innovation, design, education, and the arts. The company’s mission is to utilize I.D.E.A.s (Innovation + Design + Education + Arts) to bring about transformational change in order to enable prosperity and opportunity for everyone. In the case of the I.D.E.A District, their main tool is real estate development. They also believe that powerful ideas can have at transformational impact. They are the Founding Partners of a forum that is co-sponsored by The Urban Land Institute and the Aspen Institute called the Global Forum on the Culture of Innovation: Growing More Ideas per Square Foot. The forum focuses on inspiring examples of combining talent + culture + place to create highly effective idea-generating environments. It is their strong conviction that old decision-making models are ill suited to the current complex environment, so they developed the “I.D.E.A. Collaborative” which is a multi-institution, multi-disciplinary civic engagement model that combines a cutting-edge educational platform for students, faculty, and practicing professionals. This collaborative tackles complex problems, with its first initiative towards developing a solution to build, finance and operate the East Village green park over a parking structure.

Pete Garcia spent an entire career as a builder, developer, and engineer of major public and private real estate projects throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica, including residential, commercial, retail, industrial, hospitality, manufacturing, research, educational, process, and infrastructure projects.

From 2005 to 2010 he consulted for several companies, including Walt Disney Imagineering, and EMCOR, a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest engineering/construction/facilities services companies in the US/Canada/UK. From 1996 to 2005 he was President/CEO of University Mechanical & Engineering Contractors, a major engineering and construction company with over $150 million of yearly revenues and over 1,200 employees with individual design/build projects exceeding $50 million. Offices are in San Diego, Los Angeles and Phoenix, Arizona. From 1989 to 1996 he specialized in turnarounds of troubled companies and projects for institutional clients, including Portland General Electric, Hawaii’s Bishop Estates, Catholic Health Care West, and as Federal Bankruptcy Trustee. For Portland General Electric in particular he helped develop, enhance and divest their real estate portfolio including holdings in residential, commercial and industrial properties over a period of five years. From 1973 to 1989 he developed, built, designed, and bought/sold major real estate projects, including developing and building the first biopharmaceutical facility in San Diego for Hybritech. And from 1969 to 1973 he worked for Exxon in Texas designing and building major process plants at the biggest refinery in the world.

David Malmuth established his development firm in 2010 with a singular focus: creating art- inspired places that transform communities. This passion grows directly from the rebirth that occurred in Times Square and Hollywood as a result of his well-conceived and executed projects. In 2011, David and Pete Garcia formed I.D.E.A. Partners to lead the creation of the I.D.E.A. District (Innovation + Design + Education + Arts) in downtown San Diego. This transformative initiative aims to create over 15,000 design jobs in the next 12 years.

Prior to starting his own firm, David was the founder and a Managing Director for seven years with RCLCO’s Development Services Group. David drew upon his 25 years of experience in the development business, which included completion as principal developer of over $1 billion in high-profile projects, to assisting numerous clients in the planning and execution of mixed-use, entertainment, and waterfront developments. Between 1996 and 2002, David was a Senior Vice-President at TrizecHahn Development Corporation. During his six-year tenure, he was the key project executive on Hollywood & Highland and the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, CA (with architects Stan Eckstut and David Rockwell). During this same period, he initiated the development effort on Paseo Colorado in Pasadena, CA (also with Stan Eckstut). Previous to his position at TrizecHahn, David was Vice-President/General Manager at Disney Development Company-West. During his nine years at The Walt Disney Company, he managed the development of over $200 million in projects including The Feature Animation Building in Burbank (with architect Robert Stern) and Disney Ice in Anaheim (with architect Frank Gehry). From 1993 to 1996 he spearheaded Disney’s restoration of the New Amsterdam Theater in New York (with architect Hugh Hardy) and the highly acclaimed development of additional retail/entertainment business on New York’s famed 42nd Street.

Podcast:

July 18, 2012

01: How ObamaCare Affects You As An American Business Owner

The affordable care act has been upheld to keep most of the law in place, but how does this affect you as a private citizen and more importantly, how does it affect you as a business owner in America?

02: The Supreme Court's Decision And How It Affects Business Owners

Brian continues his discussion from last week around the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Health Care act and specifically what it means to business owners. Brian welcomes attorney Lisa Nelson, Barney & Barney’s Director of Compliance and Regulatory Affairs. Tune in as Lisa and Brian dig into the details around what business owners need to know and how they can be prepared. If you are an employer, don't miss this important broadcast.

03: How Powerful Ideas Can Have A Transformational Impact On A City

Developers Pete Garcia and David Malmuth of I.D.E.A. Partners, LLC share their vision of transforming downtown San Diego into one of the countries hottest design districts. Tune in to learn about their new I.D.E.A district that will encompass 90+ acres of land on San Diego's upper east side that will create a magnetic draw to employers and residents around the country.

04: The Shift Towards Urbanism

By shaping San Diego's urban environment, the I.D.E.A. District will attract an abundance of well-educated innovative residents, enhancing San Diego's cultural presence, broadening its economic sustainability, and engendering future growth. Together, the Garcia-Malmuth partnership makes up a duo determined to develop a creative live-work-play community with a focus on the economic opportunities created by successful design districts all over the world.

Company Website: http://ideadistrictsd.com/