About
Champion is an agile and opportunistic real estate investment and development firm specializing in the development of new and value-add apartment and industrial properties. With over 30 years of experience in all facets of real estate development and finance, George has successfully entitled, developed, purchased, refinanced, and sold projects exceeding $250 million. Currently, Champion focuses on developing ground up multi-family infill developments, with several mid-sized (50 to 130 units) multi-family projects at various entitlement stages across Southern California.
Since its inception, George and his family have been the primary investors in Champion. From 1998 to 2006, the firm completed the entitlement, development, and sale of over 28 infill projects, valued between $1 million and $20 million, primarily located in coastal Southern California. This included significant land development and re-entitlement projects. Most of these projects were sold between 2005 and 2007, strategically positioning the firm for The Great Recession. In the subsequent years (2010-2014), Champion acquired defaulted commercial and residential loans and assets from banks, subsequently foreclosing and improving properties such as retail centers, industrial sites, apartments, single-family homes, and finished lots.
Before founding Champion, George served as a Director at Voit Commercial and Cushman & Wakefield, where he completed over 150 leases and sales totaling more than $100 million from 1988 to 1998. He also served as a Special Ops and Diving Officer in the US Navy from 1984 to 1988 and holds a finance degree from the University of South Carolina.
Select Project Experience
Casa Verde North Park: Acquired land, designed, permitted, and developed a 94-unit mixed-use multifamily building with ground-floor commercial space, located 2 miles from the subject property in North Park, San Diego. Completed in 2023 and nearing stabilization; valued at $45 million.
Cache Meadows: Recapitalized multi-tenant industrial projects in Logan, Utah, from 2010 to 2012, totaling 210,000 SF across six buildings. Acquired from lenders as deeds in lieu of foreclosure. One property, purchased for $10 million at 65% occupancy, now valued at $14.5 million. Another project was bought for $3.7 million at 45% occupancy and later sold for $5.2 million.
17th Street Shopping Center: Acquired a shopping center in Idaho Falls in 2009 for $3.5 million, now valued at $5.5 million.
Moreno Valley: Purchased and re-entitled 120 acres of farmland for industrial use, selling the site to Prologis with an internal rate of return (IRR) exceeding 30%.
Residential Note Purchases: Acquired 30 single-family residential loans in CA, NV, and AL for less than $10,000 each, foreclosed and rented them out, later selling each for $30,000 to $75,000.
Bonair Vista: Developed eight townhomes in La Jolla in 2001.
Residential Development: Developed 26 single-family homes, duplexes, and four-plexes in La Jolla between 1995 and 2006, with values ranging from $800,000 to $4.5 million each.
Residential Lot Flips: Purchased over 100 lots outside Atlanta in 2014 for approximately $10,000 each, finished them, and sold them to single-family developers for $30,000 to $35,000 each.
