History

David J. Brown founds Orchard Properties as a premier Bay Area-focused commercial development company. The company goes on to win San Jose’s “Developer of the Year” on four different occasions.

Michael J. Biggar joins Orchard and co-founds Orchard Investors with David Brown to continue the development and investment activities of Orchard Properties. Orchard Investors proceeded to be active as an opportunistic investor and developer both in land and buildings throughout Silicon Valley.

Orchard Investors forms a strategic alliance with Tyler W. Higgins of AMB within Silicon Valley, underwriting and acquiring over 6.5 million square feet of R&D and industrial space.

Brown sells Orchard Properties’ property management business to Joe Lewis, who renames the business Orchard Commercial, Inc. Orchard Commercial remains an active property management and leasing firm independent of Orchard Partners.

Orchard Investors sells the majority of its remaining portfolio totaling approximately 1 million SF of office, R&D, and industrial product in three separate transactions.

Brown retires from Orchard Investors, leaving Biggar to run Orchard’s investment and development activities.

Tyler W. Higgins resigns AMB Property Corporation after a 16-year career to start his own investment and development company.

Higgins and Biggar jointly pursue several acquisition and development opportunities and purchase their first property, an 87,380 SF R&D building leased to Cisco Systems located in Milpitas, California (see 1545 Barber Lane).

Leveraging the “Orchard” brand, and changing “Properties” to “Partners” to signify a new beginning, Orchard Partners is officially founded. By the end of 2007, the firm acquires 10 industrial and R&D properties exceeding $200 million of total investment cost. Details for many of these transactions are highlighted in our Case Studies section.