USA Properties President Geoff Brown honored for service to Sacramento real estate industry

USA Properties Fund President Geoff Brown recently received the Samuel J. Cullers Outstanding Achievement Award from the Sacramento Chapter of Lambda Alpha International (LAI), recognizing his contributions to the development and real estate community in the region.

“I am very touched to receive the award and be recognized for our impact on the Sacramento region,” said Brown, who joined USA Properties in 1989 and was named president in 1997.

“I am very touched to receive the award and be recognized for our impact on the Sacramento region,” said Brown, who joined USA Properties in 1989 and was named president in 1997.

Much of the company’s fast-paced growth has come under the leadership of Brown – and after USA Properties moved to the Sacramento region in 1993.

USA Properties has become one of the largest affordable apartment community developer-managers in the West and has expanded into market-rate properties during the past few years. Today, the company has almost 90 apartment communities, including 34 in the Sacramento region.

Brown talked about the company’s humble beginnings and its evolution during his speech at the Lambda Alpha International dinner in downtown Sacramento. Brown also discussed the challenges for multifamily developers in California, from fast-rising construction costs to the elimination of redevelopment funds, but also the optimism around the state’s housing goals.

Award named after longtime city and regional planner

The Lambda Alpha International award is named after Samuel J. Cullers, a longtime city and regional planner who was the former Chief of Urban Planning for the State of California and later became Acting Director for the State Office of Planning. Cullers, who died in 2005, is the founding president of the Sacramento Chapter of Lambda Alpha International.

The organization has more than 140 members, a who’s who of community leaders in the region, from architects and attorneys to developers and planners. LAI members are chosen for their professional experience and their commitment to nonprofit organizations in the region.

Brown is active in numerous community organizations, including being a co-founder of the JB Brown Fund, a grassroots organization named after his late-father. The JB Brown Fund has assisted more than 1,000 low-income residents at USA Properties attend college, participate in youth sports or deal with an unexpected financial hardship.