Industry veteran succeeds Michael McCleery, who is retiring
USA Properties Fund Inc., one of the largest apartment community developer-builder-managers in the West, has hired industry veteran Tony Piscitello as President of USA Construction Management.
Piscitello, who has three decades of construction management experience, will oversee USA Properties Fund’s multifamily construction efforts, from pre-development and construction to turning over the completed projects to property management. Piscitello succeeds Michael McCleery, the first-ever President of USA Construction Management, who is retiring after 32 years with USA Properties.
Piscitello was most recently Vice President of Construction for Mill Creek Residential Trust LLC, managing the company’s multifamily construction projects in Portland, Ore. Mill Creek develops, builds, acquires and operates market-rate apartment communities from California to Washington, D.C. Before Mill Creek, Piscitello was Senior Project Manager for the Holland Partner Group in Vancouver, Wash., a fully integrated real estate company much like USA Properties.
“Tony has extensive experience in the industry and a long list of impressive projects during his career,” said Geoff Brown, President of USA Properties Fund. “USA Properties will greatly benefit from his knowledge, especially as we expand even more into market-rate communities.”
Piscitello will oversee construction of market-rate and affordable apartment communities
USA Properties, a longtime owner-manager-developer of affordable family and senior apartment communities in California and Nevada, started expanding into market-rate communities several years ago. The company has completed market-rate apartment communities in Northern California and has other affordable and market-rate communities in various stages of development in California.
Piscitello said the opportunity to oversee the development and construction of both affordable and market-rate communities piqued his interest in the position with USA Properties. But the company’s corporate culture and mission were the deciding factor to join USA Properties.
“It’s an opportunity to learn and expand my knowledge,” Piscitello said of building much-needed affordable apartment communities. “I was enamored with the company’s purpose of homes for people. It’s not just about the dollar.”
Piscitello is the latest senior executive to join USA Properties Fund in recent years. April Atkinson, formerly with The Irvine Company, was hired as Executive Vice President of Property Management, in August 2016. Jonathan Harmer, formerly with CV Holdings Inc., joined as Chief Financial Officer in June 2017.
“It’s energizing to be the next generation of leadership at USA Properties,” said Piscitello, a one-time carpenter who later earned his bachelor’s degree in Construction Management from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. “USA Properties has been very successful in its own right. I just want to help continue that success and contribute to future growth by sharing my experience.”
Michael McCleery to retire after 32 years with USA Properties
Piscitello and the soon-to-retire McCleery will work together for a few more weeks to ensure a smooth transition.
McCleery joined the company in 1988, when USA Properties was building single-family homes but soon moved into affordable apartment communities.
“I was able to take a blank palette and help create something,” McCleery said. Today, the company has about 90 apartment communities and 13,000 units. “USA Properties has gone from a mom-and-pop company into a sophisticated, modern corporation. As the company has changed over time, what hasn’t changed is the belief in the people.”
McCleery also helped start the JB Brown Fund, a grassroots program named after USA Properties’ founder that assists low-income residents at USA Properties-owned and -managed communities to attend college, participate in youth sports or face an unexpected financial challenge.
“It adds value at such a personal level,” McCleery said of the JB Brown Fund. “There is something more important than just the economics of a project. We get to see a lot of life in our properties.”
Geoff Brown, whose father founded USA Properties in Santa Monica in 1981, said McCleery has been instrumental in the company’s success.
“We are very grateful for Michael’s dedication and leadership for so many years,” Brown said. “Michael knows very well the challenges and hard work that was needed to help USA Properties survive and grow in the early days. He has played a critical role in our success and will be greatly missed.”