Workshop: Ground-Up Development in California — Surviving the Gauntlet

California ground-up development is not for the faint of heart. Entitlement timelines that run 18–36 months. Labor costs 30–40% above national averages. A regulatory environment where the rules change mid-project. Community opposition that can derail a fully entitled project. And a financing environment that requires carrying all of this risk before you pour a single yard of concrete.

Marcus Webb is Principal at Vantage Development Group, a San Diego-based firm with $280M in active mixed-use ground-up projects across Chula Vista, Oceanside, and National City. He has survived the California development gauntlet multiple times — and he's willing to share exactly what he learned the hard way.

The workshop walks through the full development lifecycle from a California developer's perspective: reading and engaging a planning department before you file (the pre-application meeting most developers skip that can save 6–12 months); understanding discretionary vs. ministerial approval and how to structure projects for by-right entitlement; ADU and SB-9 programs — where the real opportunity is and where developers are setting unrealistic expectations; California's CEQA process — when it applies, how to manage it, and what triggers the most expensive reviews; construction cost management in a high-labor market; construction financing structures for ground-up in California — the LTC ratios, interest reserves, and draw schedules lenders actually require; and risk underwriting for the scenarios that actually kill California development deals.

Includes a full case study walkthrough of a Vantage project from land acquisition through certificate of occupancy — real numbers, real timeline, real problems. Attendees receive a California Entitlement Process Timeline Guide. 1.5 CE credits.