GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: Argus Realty Taps New COO

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA-Argus Realty Investors has named former Minnesota district court judge Barbara A. Halper as chief operating officer of the real estate investment company and tenant in common specialist.Halper, who has 20 years of commercial real estate experience in acquiring and enhancing suburban office parks and warehouse-distribution properties, will head all Argus internal operations ranging from strategic planning to personnel management. She will report to Richard Gee, Argus Realty’s chairman and CEO, and to Tim Snodgrass, president. Snodgrass has held the COO post but will now focus on developing strategic relationships and new real estate investment programs for Argus and its investors.Halper has been a commercial real estate analyst for Commonwealth Financial Network, a San Diego investment broker-dealer firm. Previously, she headed Halper Enterprises Inc., a management consulting firm for small businesses. In her legal career, she was a partner with Popham, Bloomquist & Halper of Chaska, MN.Gee and Snodgrass describe Halper’s background in commercial real estate development and investment, as well as her experience as a former judge, litigator, and business management consultant, as an ideal fit for Argus and its growth in tax-favored real estate investments. Argus specializes in acquiring both stabilized and value-added industrial and office properties for individual and institutional investors. It also considers other opportune investments nationwide in the $10 million to $150 million range. The company’s recent Southern California investments include its $14.8 million purchase of the 100,000-sf Von Karman Business Park in the Airport Area submarket from Transwestern Investment Co. LLC of Chicago. Argus bought the property via a tenant-in-common structure, including nine 1031 Exchange investors and three direct participation investors.