Ryan Cos. Opens San Diego Office, Plans 100-Acre Development

SAN DIEGO-Ryan Cos. US Inc., the Minneapolis-based full service developer, has set roots down in the local market. The company opened an office in San Diego earlier this year and it will continue developing a 100-acre site in Santee.The Southwest division of Ryan has been active in the metro area since 2002, where it’s designed and developed commercial space, but the decision to open an office in the area signals the firm’s commitment to grow its business in the Southland. “We go into markets because our clients bring us there,” says Matt Reid, VP of development for Ryan’s west division. Reid, who established Ryan’s Chicago operations, will now oversee the San Diego business. He tells Globest.com that Ryan’s relationships with Target and Hartford Insurance brought Ryan initially to Southern California and as that business grew the next logical step was to open an office in the Southland as well. “We’ve remodeled some Target stores here and also developed a project for Hartford in Santee,” Reid says.Ryan’s San Diego office counts 2,000 sf, but Reid adds, as the business grows, the company expects to count between 7,000 sf and 10,000 sf of office space within five years. He says the 68-year-old company, which is a third generation, family-owned operation, looks at establishing its corporate culture in a market instead of hiring local talent to begin with. “It’s more important to us to have the culture first,” Reid says. Joining him in San Diego is Robby Knight, who came from the Phoenix office and will build the construction side of the business.On tap is the RiverView project in Santee, which could reach 1.9 million sf of commercial space at buildout. The project will include office, residential, tech and R&D space. Ryan has already completed Phase I, an 80,000-sf regional office for Hartford Insurance. Phase II will begin construction this fall and includes approximately 62,000 sf of office, a 10- to14-screen movie theater and 240 residential condos. Reid says the project is adjacent to the trolley “that goes right into Downtown San Diego. That’s a great benefit to the project.”Ryan has a 10-year deal with the city to develop the 100-acre parcel, according to Reid, who adds that the company is self-funded and typically doesn’t look for partners on its projects.