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From its spacious office space in Santa Monica, SR Watt Co. Courtney Trujillo, president, oversees 1.1 million square feet of adjacent retail, multifamily and office properties in California and Oregon.
“For me now, it’s about these opportunities to create and execute strategy,” Trujillo said. “I have been in this business for 30 years. It’s a very exciting time to be in this industry.
SR Watt is one of five new entities formed through the reorganization of Watt Cos., a 75-year-old family real estate firm.
Starting from the third quarter, the assets of the privately held company will be divided into five groups among the shareholders of the Watt family to manage the allocated assets and create new business development opportunities.
“We are extremely proud of our work and the team at Watt Companies that has built on the legacy of my grandfather, Ray Watt,” said Nadine Watt, Watt’s president and CEO, in a statement.
Trujillo said the decision to split the company into five was made by the major shareholders. The company is divided in such a way that it accommodates the goals of the shareholders and allows the company to “create a new legacy for the future”.
Each of the new entities will operate a portion of the Watt Companies portfolio, which includes shopping centers, office, industrial and multifamily properties.
“Each company is getting a mix of retail, industrial, mobile home parks, office and multifamily. “It’s spread across all product types and properties,” Trujillo said.
Two 900,000-square-foot Watt Plaza office towers in Century City have been split into three parties.
New companies
From SR Watt Co. Additionally, the newly formed corporations include Watt Capital Developers, led by Scott Watt; Watt Capital Partners, managed by Nadine Watt; AJ Watt Enterprises Inc., led by Audra Arbini. and Williams & Watt Inc., sponsored by Sadie Williams. Trujillo is not a member of the Watt family.
Trujillo’s SR Watt operates and manages retail and industrial properties and seeks value-add strategies and other real estate opportunities in multifamily and retail in prime West Coast markets.
The new entity’s portfolio includes 363,000 square feet of retail space, 466 multifamily units and 140,000 square feet of office space.
One of the company’s first value-add projects was the redevelopment of unused office space, along with In-N-Out Burger, a 3,280-square-foot restaurant in San Clemente.
“This started when he was under Watt Properties (a division of Watt Cos.),” Trujillo said. “We are very excited to be the first In-N-Out in San Clemente. We had an office building that was at the end of its life cycle. An opportunity has come for us to look at a new land lease opportunity.
Two office buildings on the site have been demolished, with new construction on the In-N-Out down the street by the end of September.
SR Watt is renovating its headquarters office building at 2716 Ocean Park in Santa Monica.
Among the improvements made are updating the offices and adding electric chargers in the parking lot. The goal is to attract new tenants.
“We have a lot of garden style where you don’t have to take an elevator,” Trujillo said. “We’ve signed two new leases with businesses that are growing and expanding since the pandemic.”
Trujillo oversees a 20,000-square-foot single-tenant building in Carson and a 38,000-square-foot multi-tenant building in Pasadena. Both were 100% contained and experienced no disruptions during the outbreak.
In the multifamily area, SR Watt is renovating 90 units in Downey.
“We did a $2.5 million renovation and added amenities that weren’t on that property,” Trujillo said. “We’ve added a fitness center, an outdoor barbecue area, a play area and a seating area with a fire pit. We want to create that outdoor living experience. We also did some renovations on the inside of the apartments as each room was flipped.
Trujillo said all of these projects add to the appeal of the Watt brand.
“This is our opportunity to continue the good work of the Watt family business and build on the same foundation of quality real estate. Trujillo, who has been with the group since 2011, plans to add value to these properties and build the portfolio to further enhance the legacy created by the Watt family.”
This is our opportunity to continue the good work of the Watt family business.
Courtney Trujillo
SR Watt Company
Conversion strategies
Prior to founding SR Watt, Trujillo served as Vice President of Watt Properties, where she managed a variety of retail, office and industrial properties. Her tenure at Watt is best known for the execution and expansion of the company’s multifamily portfolio from 150 to 1,500 units, including value-add and prime properties.
Trujillo’s experience includes working with companies such as Burnham Pacific Properties, Center Trust Properties, Summit Commercial and Red Mountain Retail Group.
During her career, she developed and implemented a strategic plan to consolidate the Grocery-Anchor portfolio of centers. Completion of multiple retail remodeling projects; and handled the construction and leasing of Virginia Center Commons, a 1 million square foot regional mall in Ashland, Virginia.
At Watt Cos., Trujillo began to see a gradual shift in business strategy.
“The company made a change about seven years ago and decided to expand into multifamily,” Trujillo said. We’ve done a lot of work on our existing retail portfolio and spent a lot of time on multi-family.
Watt bought multifamily properties in Las Vegas and Phoenix. In the year In 2018, the company expanded to the Portland and Seattle areas.
Looking ahead, SR Watt continues Watt Properties’ previous strategy of acquiring multifamily properties.
“We believe that the multifamily sector is aligned with the company’s core values of creating inspiring spaces and providing a quality living experience,” Trujillo said.
Trujillo takes a holistic view of the movement within the organization.
“It was a process based on the alignment of newly organized companies,” Trujillo said. “There’s a lot of transition in executing on real estate, transitioning to SR Watt and moving forward.”
She’s finding new dynamics at play as she navigates her new body.
“The silver stops at you,” she said. “We used to have a great team and now I collaborate with my colleagues in the industry. That has changed,” he said.
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