FEATURE ARTICLE, MAY 2008

NETWORK, NET GAIN
R.D. Bronson’s 30-year track record of commercial development success covers many projects and also many people.
Brian A. Lee

In commercial real estate, much of the focus is on the bricks and mortar of a project, but Richard D. “Skip” Bronson, president and CEO of Beverly Hills, California-based The Bronson Companies, knows the true building blocks of a successful business are relationships. The benefits of his approach have extended well beyond his own development company.

R.D. Bronson’s successful development network spans multiple decades and continents.

“When you’re developing a real estate project, you need three things — the idea, the energy to bring that idea to fruition and the money,” says Bronson. “You often find developers who have two of the three required qualities. You need all three. If you don’t have all three of those qualities, you better make sure you align yourself with people who have the qualities that you’re missing.”

“That’s what I do — form strategic partnerships. I forge strategic alliances. It’s about putting the right people together.”

True commercial real estate visionaries like Bronson are able to master the details and complexities of the business while adhering unwaveringly to a few basic tenets. Judging by his career work and the business associations he’s made, the formula is working quite well.

In his 30 years of real estate development experience, Bronson has been involved in more than 100 shopping center and office projects throughout the nation. After becoming one of the most prolific retail strip center developers in New England, he joined Mirage Resorts Inc. in the early 1990s, serving as president of Mirage’s affiliate New City Development at that time. Bronson and his good friend Steve Wynn were the two inside directors of Mirage Resorts until 2000 when the company was acquired by MGM Resorts. After that, Bronson relocated to Beverly Hills; 8 years later his commercial real estate influence extends half way around the globe.

The Donald Disputes, Then Develops

The powerful source of one of Bronson’s most strategic real estate alliances, as well as a very strong friendship, did not quite see eye to eye with him initially. While at Mirage together, Bronson and Wynn led the development of Renaissance Point in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The plan for what would become Boyd Gaming and MGM/Mirage’s $1.2 billion resort hotel The Borgata did not sit well with Donald Trump. The high-profile real estate magnate and television celebrity sought to block the development that would compete with his own properties there.

“Donald Trump did everything he could to fight us from doing that because he was the largest casino owner in Atlantic City and at the time felt that what we were doing was going to take business away from him,” says Bronson, who has written a book titled The War at the Shore that details the 4- or 5-year battle that he and Wynn had with Trump.

With the unexpected help of mutual friend Edward S. Gordon, the now-deceased founder of ESG, New York’s largest commercial brokerage firm, Bronson and Trump eventually put their differences behind them and became friends. The ramifications of their friendship are being felt across the real estate world from the western United States to Mexico and throughout Asia. It was Bronson who brought Adam Fisher, CEO of Hong Kong-based Orient Property Group, and Trump together to seize an extremely rare opportunity to develop a site in Honolulu next to the Outrigger in Waikiki. Through that joint venture came the project known as The Trump International Hotel & Tower Waikiki Beach Walk, a 38-story hotel-condominium tower that is currently under construction (see page 64).

“Adam did that with his then-partner under the name Irongate,” says Bronson. “Through Irongate, which is a privately held real estate development and investment firm that’s located here in Los Angeles, came this project, which was famous for having sold out in one day.”

What followed after that was the Trump Ocean Resort Baja in Rosarita Beach, Mexico, which will start construction soon. Then Fisher moved to Hong Kong with plans to develop as many as 10 Trump-branded hotel and condo projects in China and Southeast Asia.

“Part of my strength has been putting people together,” says Bronson. “That’s what I’ve done all my life.”

Western Ways

Besides Bronson’s many international and island joint ventures with Trump, the real estate veteran has demonstrated his expert ability in reading western markets and taking advantage of unique development opportunities. At the heart of each of his company’s impending projects in the western United States is a strong, relationship-focused partnership.

Bronson will partner with Mark Rivers, the developer of the BoDo (Boise Downtown) mixed-use property, on a condominium project in Boise, Idaho, called River 8.

“My partner went into the city and ingratiated himself with the people who run the two major employers in Boise — Micron Technologies and Boise State University,” says Bronson.

In Culver City, California, Bronson is planning a mixed-use project with Walter Marx, developer of the extremely successful Helms Bakery Building. Located in the central business district, the site would feature ground-floor office with retail space above it.

“With the Culver City project, I just started driving in concentric circles from my office in Beverly Hills, got to Culver City, and I saw this project called the Helms Bakery Building, which I thought was incredibly insightful,” says Bronson. “I said I want to meet the guy who developed it. I met with Wally Marx, talked to him about thoughts and ideas and from that came a mutual interest in develping things together. [After all], this is a relationship-driven business.”

©2008 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.