Now, for some good news. Savills Studley’s Steve Card was recently awarded CREW Orange County chapter’s highest philanthropy honor for his work helping nonprofit Project Youth OCBF purchase a new headquarters. Details in Bisnow and our press release on Steve’s work and commitment to the organization.
Savills Studley’s Steven Card Completes Santa Ana, CA Office Building Purchase on Behalf of Project Youth OCBF
Card Wins CREW-OC SPIRE Award for “Superior Performance in Philanthropy”
Santa Ana, Calif. — Savills Studley has completed the acquisition of a two-story building in Santa Ana, Calif. for Project Youth OCBF (Orange County Bar Foundation). Project Youth OCBF is a nonprofit organization committed to keeping at-risk youth in school, healthy and drug-free through education, counseling, mentoring and family strengthening. The successful transaction combined Savills Studley’s commercial real estate expertise with its commitment to philanthropy, support for community organizations and passion for Project Youth OCBF.
Built in 2001, the 8,015-square-foot, two-story, Class A facility, formerly occupied by the seller, the law firm of Bagby Gajdos & Zachary, is on a 0.9-acre site at 1605 E 17th Street in Santa Ana’s Cabrillo Park neighborhood. The upgraded building provides a safe after-school haven for kids who benefit from Project Youth OCBF’s services, including health education, academic and career development, and a juvenile diversion program that significantly reduces repeat offenses.
Savills Studley Senior Managing Director Steve Card represented Project Youth OCBF in the $2 million transaction, forgoing his commission in support of the nonprofit organization. Card is a member of the Board of Directors, as well as the Board’s president-elect. The acquisition was a team effort that engaged other Board members, including Farmers & Merchants Bank CEO W. Henry Walker, whose organization provided the purchase loan at very favorable terms, and Dennis W. Ghan, Esq. of Palmieri, Tyler, Wiener, Wilhelm & Waldron LLP, who reviewed the purchase and contract documents pro bono. A recent gift of $15.3 million from the Jeffrey M. Carlton Foundation contributed significantly to the organization’s financial stability, enabling it to proceed with the building purchase and make improvements before moving in.
“We are very pleased to have taken advantage of an ideal opportunity to expand the capabilities of Project Youth OCBF and enable it to move into a safe, well-located space,” said Card. “This nonprofit benefits from a property tax exemption by acquiring, rather than leasing, space and can now control one of its largest operating expenses for the foreseeable future. Project Youth OCBF will be around for the long term, and so will this building.” The organization has set a goal of paying off its loan as soon as possible, in order to devote most of its raised funds to its youth programming.
Project Youth OCBF’s new home offers administrative offices, an after-school study hall for high school students fully equipped with computers and wifi, as well as classroom-style community rooms for mentoring local youth through its varied programs.
Nominated by Project Youth OCBF for his outstanding philanthropic contributions, including his role in securing the organization’s new building, Card recently was honored by the Orange County chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW-OC) with its SPIRE award for “Superior Performance in Philanthropy.”
As part of the commitment to the organization, Savills Studley participates in an annual Project Youth OCBF program, Project SELF, which provides high school juniors with paid, hands-on summer internships.