Excelsior-based Oppidan Investment Co., a development and construction firm, has named Blake Hastings as the firm’s new president. Hastings led the local office of Los Angeles-based CBRE Group Inc., the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm, since 2013.
“This was an opportunity for me to get on the development/ownership side,” said Hastings. “Oppidan’s had a great history. They ‘ve gotten to the point where they need further infrastructure to keep growing.”
Oppidan owner Joe Ryan founded the company in 1991 and will remain its CEO. The firm was previously best known as a builder of retail projects. But Oppidan has since expanded into a wide range of property types including senior housing, industrial, data center and mixed-use projects.
“There’s an interest in further diversifying as they grow,” said Hastings, who steps in his new role on November 1.
“We’ve had very strong growth coming out of the downturn in ’07 and ’08. That growth has taken us to different product types,” Ryan told Twin Cities Business. “Going into the downturn retail was our game…We’ve diversified greatly.”
CBRE is a Fortune 500 company; it reported 2017 revenue of $14.2 billion.
The privately-held Oppidan does not disclose its revenue. A statement from the company said that so far in 2018 it has been involved in 98 development projects in 28 states with a total project cost of $461 million.
A statement from the local CBRE office outlined the company’s transition plan: “John Latessa, CBRE’s Midwest Division President, and Jeff Jiovanazzo, Sales Director, will lead all operations on an interim basis while we initiate a process to identify the best candidate for this tremendous opportunity to serve as CBRE’s Minneapolis market leader.”