In 2011, David and Pete Garcia formed I.D.E.A. Partners to lead the development of the I.D.E.A. District -- Innnovation+Design+Education+Arts -- in downtown San Diego. This transformative initiative, located on 35 blocks in the Upper East Village, aims to create a vibrant, sustainable mixed-use district that will generate over 13,000+ design and technology jobs in the next 10 years. IDEA1, their first mixed-use project with partner Lowe Enterprises, will break ground in early 2015. Beforestarting his own firm, David was the Founder and a Managing Director for seven years with RCLCO’s Development Services Group. Prior to that, between 1996-2002, David was a Senior Vice President at TrizecHahn Development Corporation. During his six-year tenure, he was the key project executive on Hollywood & Highland and the Kodak Theater (now Dolby Theater) in Hollywood, CA (with architects Stan Eckstut!and David Rockwell). During this same period, he also initiated the development of Paseo Colorado in Pasadena, CA. Previous to his position at TrizecHahn, David was Vice President/General Manager at Disney Development Company-West. During his nine years at The Walt Disney Company, he managed the development of over $200 million in projects including The Feature Animation Building in Burbank (with architect Robert Stern) and Disney Ice in Anaheim (with architect Frank!Gehry). From 1993-1996 he spearheaded Disney’s restoration of the New Amsterdam Theater in New York (with architect Hugh Hardy) and the highly acclaimed development of additional retail/entertainment business on New York’s famed 42nd Street.
