Real Estate Challenge Participants - Where Are They Now? Featuring Connor Kidd
Connor Kidd is a well-rounded real estate professional who enjoys working in a wide range of geographic markets and loves seeing how real estate impacts the daily lives of people. As Executive Vice President, Director of Asset Management at The Swig Company, he has plenty of opportunities to do just that. Kidd is responsible for Swig’s 8.5 million square foot urban office portfolio, with properties in New York, Los Angeles and the Bay Area. “I love working in real estate because it is tangible”, said Kidd. “I enjoy being able to see the results of my efforts. Few industries provide that kind of satisfaction.”
Kidd joined The Swig Company in 2009 and prior to assuming his current role in January, he was part of the investments team. He worked on a wide variety of deal structures including joint venture partnerships where Swig provided the limited partnership capital as well as transactions in which Swig either purchased 100% of a building or was the general partner. One of his favorite deals was the acquisition of a ground lease at the corner of 6th Ave. and 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan. “I found it extremely exciting because it was a generational location on Bryant Park which presented the rare opportunity to reposition a building in that iconic location.” Another exciting project that got Kidd’s creative juices flowing is 633 Folsom, which the company is repositioning. “We are completely transforming the asset (originally built as back office) into a modern class A office building designed to attract today’s tenants,” he said. “The reinvention consists of adding five new floors, and approximately 100k square feet, a new façade, new core and all new building systems.”
In 2007 Kidd participated in The NAIOP SFBA Real Estate Challenge as part of the winning Stanford team. They presented an innovative approach to developing the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vacaville, received accolades for their ingenuity from the judges and took home the coveted Golden Shovel. He considers the experience a pivotal one that helped kick start his career.
“Participating in the Challenge allowed me to see that what makes a real estate project successful is the convening of a group of talented individuals in collaboration to solve complex problems,” he said. “It is truly the best real estate education one can have.”
NAIOP has remained an important part of Kidd’s life. After the Challenge, he decided to get actively involved in NAIOP leadership and spent several years on the Membership Committee which works on initiatives to recruit and retain members and get people more engaged with the organization. Currently, his role within the chapter is as a member of the committee producing the Real Estate Insider (REI) series. “Through NAIOP, I meet incredibly interesting people and get to see some of the most challenging projects,” he said. “That exposure helps me learn about best practices within the industry which I find extremely valuable.”
Kidd encourages those starting out in their careers to get involved. “If you want to meet the people that are making deals happen and shaping the future of our industry, it is essential to play an active role in organizations such as NAIOP,” he said. “Joining and attending events is an excellent first step, however, the real value is in getting on a committee where you will build close relationships.”
On the personal front, Kidd was born in Norman, Oklahoma and lived there until I he moved to the Bay Area for his undergraduate studies at Stanford. He and his wife have two children, 6 and 4 years old. They live in Marin and love family adventures and the outdoors.
Don't miss the 30th Anniversary event of the NAIOP SFBA Real Estate Challenge, coming up on April 25th at the Four Seasons in San Francisco.
