Press Releases

John Privett Joins as Development Partner for Southern California

May 07, 2019


Los Angeles – Transwestern Development Co. (TDC®) today announces it has expanded its national Logistics Group with the addition of John Privett, who joins as Development Partner responsible for Southern California projects. Additionally, TDC has hired Sara Santomauro and Scott Heaviside as Development Managers to provide project support. The team will work with Western Regional Partner Stephen Batcheller to facilitate the firm’s growth along the West Coast, with a primary focus on Orange County, the Inland Empire and Los Angeles County.

“As the Southern California industrial market continues to outperform in response to unprecedented demand, we are expanding our team with talented professionals to deliver superior logistics product that achieves the objectives of our clients,” said Batcheller. “The region’s historically low vacancy rates present an opportunity to meet the requirements of today’s tenants with high-quality infill space.”

With more than 30 years of commercial real estate experience, Privett most recently was Executive Vice President at CBRE where he served developers, owners and users of industrial space. During his career, he has leased or sold more than 100 million square feet of buildings valued in excess of $4 billion. His clients have included RREEF, General Motors, Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America, Sumitomo Corp., Georgia Pacific and Prologis.

“After decades in logistics brokerage, I am excited to apply my expertise to the development side of the business,” said Privett. “TDC has built a reputation of anticipating what today’s logistics tenants require in modern facilities, and I look forward to enhancing that insight in one of the country’s most dynamic and important logistic markets.” 

Also joining from CBRE, Santomauro assisted in closing more than 6.7 million square feet of transactions in her first year, earning her the 2018 CBRE Business Developer of the Year award. She previously worked in commercial real estate finance at Bank of the West, where she closed more than $80 million in commercial real estate transactions.

Heaviside comes to TDC from Alston Construction, where he worked on several projects, including being the project engineer on Rosendin Electric’s new 150,000-square-foot Southern California headquarters. He earned a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering and management from San Diego State University in May 2016, and a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration on real estate from Southern Methodist University in 2019.

These hires follow a series of senior leader appointments in the Logistics Group, which develops both speculative and build-to-suit industrial projects, primarily in major distribution markets. John Thomas leads the group, Batcheller oversees West Coast projects, and Brian Banaszynski oversees Northeast operations. The group’s expertise includes intermodal logistics, e-commerce, port strategy, sustainability and municipal incentives.

Founded in 1978, Transwestern has developed office, industrial, multifamily and healthcare projects across the United States. Since 2000, the Transwestern enterprise has completed projects valued at more than $6.2 billion.

ABOUT TRANSWESTERN DEVELOPMENT CO.

Transwestern Development Co. (TDC®) is a diversified business with expertise in all commercial property types. The firm executes projects through a variety of venture and contract structures and has been creating commercial landmarks for itself, its partners and valued customers throughout the U.S. since 1978. TDC operates as a principal, investing capital alongside its institutional equity partners in the development of speculative and build-to-suit projects, and as a fee developer for clients and user-owners. Part of the integrated Transwestern enterprise, the firm capitalizes on the market insight and operational expertise of its affiliates, which include a diversified real estate services firm with 34 U.S. offices and a real estate investment management company. For more information, visit transwesterndevelopment.com.

Media Contact:

Stefanie Lewis                                   
713.272.1266                                         
stefanie.lewis@transwestern.com          
twmediarelations@transwestern.com

John Privett

Partner - West

Newport Beach, California

(323) 791-8452