Grupe Huber Company, Author at Grupe Huber Company

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Partner Spotlight

Patmon Company Inc.: A Committed Partnership

March 29, 2021

Grupe Huber is grateful that over the past few decades, we have been able to find incredible businesses to work with on many of our development endeavors. It is important when looking for companies to partner with, that your goals align and there is mutual trust amongst the parties. Patmon Company Inc. (PCI) is one of Stockton’s finest property management and development firms, and we are proud to be working with them.

Charles G. Patmon III (Pat), a lifelong resident of Stockton who began his construction career in 1965, founded the company while attending the University of the Pacific. (Go Tigers!) Pat and Fritz Grupe, Sandy’s Father, have a friendship that dates back to 1965!

Fast forward a few decades and today, Pat’s youngest son Jeff Patmon, and Fritz Grupe’s grandson, Fritz Huber, have a friendship of their own and just completed their first project working together last month, on a $34mm, 156 unit apartment complex.

PCI brought Grupe Huber onto the StoneBrier Apartment complex project in 2017 when they were searching for a company that would be able to function as the project’s construction administration team. Grupe Huber, alongside PCI, was able to work through the process of taking a project from bare land to apartments.

We’ve enjoyed getting to work with PCI on the recently completed StoneBrier Apartment complex in Stockton, CA, and are looking forward to beginning the next project, the Eight Mile Apartment complex with them this coming summer!

Grand Opening image of storquest self store

Grand Opening of Modesto Self-Storage (StorQuest)

September 27, 2020

Modesto’s Newest Storage Facility Is a Classic: Grupe Huber Revamps Mid-Century Building Into State-of-the-Art Storage Facility

Grupe Huber’s newest project might cause longtime Modesto residents to do a double take. The new StorQuest storage facility at 1324 Coldwell Avenue is a revamp of an existing 1954 building, allowing for a unique mix of solidly constructed mid-century architecture with state-of-the-art climate control, security, and energy efficiency.

“The historic building features poured-in-place concrete with brick shear, large concrete columns, and very solid trusses,” said Grupe Huber Vice President Fritz Huber. “It is very unique, well-built, and beautiful on the inside, and we wanted to leverage that.”

The $6 million rehab in a downtown location close to Modesto Junior College was welcomed by the City of Modesto, as well.

“Grupe Huber had a great team on board from the beginning of the project,” said Oscar Diaz, the City of Modesto’s chief building official for building safety and neighborhood preservation. “The City of Modesto strives to provide as much guidance as possible, but having an experienced designer is critical to the success of a development project. While the building was not officially a registered landmark, the City always appreciates the innovative reuse of old, classic buildings. It had been under-used for many years, so we are glad to see that the building will once again be occupied.”

Besides being well-built, the existing structure offered other benefits: The size of the building allowed for larger-than-usual individual storage units — 113 square feet compared to the average 80-95 square feet.

The facility will be operated by StorQuest Self-Storage and carry the national chain’s name. It offers an array of high-tech features, including:

100% climate-controlled facility
An average unit size of 113 square feet — up to 29 percent larger than a typical unit
Camera-monitored covered RV and boat parking stalls
Solar trickle chargers for RV and boat units to ensure long battery life
Individually alarmed units
Heavy digital security throughout the facility with no blackout areas
24-hour remotely monitored security system
Solar-powered system for net zero efficiency throughout the facility

“The Central Valley has been largely underserved when it comes to new self-storage development, and we wanted to create something beneficial and unique for Modesto and the surrounding communities,” said Grupe Huber Vice President Fritz Huber. “The existing building was exceptionally well-constructed and gave us a chance to create a unit mix that is right for this market while offering rates on par with non-climatized facilities.”

Modernizing the building for net zero efficiency was an important step, Huber said, given the facility’s climate-control capabilities. Even when temperatures skyrocket into the 100+ range, the temperature at Modesto’s new StorQuest units will never exceed 80 degrees. Plus, steady solar power means RV and boat users can keep their batteries charged and ready for anytime use via trickle charge outlets supplied at no extra cost to the tenants.

The facility opened on August 17, 2020. Ready to rent a climate-controlled unit? Rates range from $76-$215 per month. For more information, click here.

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Community Involvement

Investing in Students: Reflecting On 9 Years of Service with UOP

September 26, 2020

The University of the Pacific isn’t just the oldest chartered university in California. Its Stockton campus is part of the lifeblood of the community — and as such, the university’s worth goes far beyond the economic benefit it brings to the area.

So when alumnus (business, ’86) and Grupe Huber CEO Kevin Huber joined UOP’s Board of Regents, he had to shift his boardroom mentality to an outlook focused on students.

“Your objective is not shareholder value,” he says. “Your objective is transformation of lives. UOP’s mission is to take somebody who comes in as a freshman or transfer student and help them achieve their purpose, their goals, and to get the degree they seek that will help them do what they want to do in life.”

Kevin recently ended three terms, or nine years of service, on the Board of Regents. It was a natural extension of his previous work for the university: He served on the Eberhardt School of Business advisory board from the mid-’90s to the early 2000s, including a stint as chair.

During his time on the Board of Regents, Kevin and his colleagues were tasked with selecting a new university president, an extensive process that began in 2018. At the time, Kevin was serving as the chair of the board. He and other board members embarked on a listening tour to speak with faculty, staff, and students — 18 meetings spanning from November 2018 to January 2019, prior to the presidential search in 2019.

After the tour, on his recommendation, the Board of Regents formed a selection committee that included the vice chair of the board and representatives from faculty, staff, alumni, regents, undergraduates, graduates, and members of professional schools, among others. He suggested one hard-and-fast rule that the board agreed with: no chairs or presidents of the constituent group could serve on the selection committee, including himself — he was concerned they could be an undue influence on the process.

His team’s work paid off when Chris Callahan, formerly of Arizona State University, became UOP’s 26th president in late 2019.

“If I’m going to get involved with something, I give it everything I have,” Kevin says.

That attitude certainly served him well this year, when the university — along with thousands of other institutions around the country — faced the COVID-19 crisis. For the first time in generations, UOP students wouldn’t be able to walk in a graduation ceremony. Instead, Kevin gave a speech in a virtual ceremony intended to give graduates some much-needed closure to such an important part of their lives.

After Kevin told the online crowd how UOP had put a college education in reach for him, he explained how the benefits of attending the university go far beyond economic or professional development.

“Pacific has trained us — you and me — to confront the unknown with resolve, confidence, and the ability to adapt,” he said. “Go Tigers!”

Partner Spotlight

Oak Valley Community Bank: A Partner with a Can-Do Spirit

September 24, 2020

Grupe Huber loves a good challenge. But to turn challenges into opportunities, we need a partner that sees potential in our vision and can be trusted to follow through every step of the way. Luckily, we found that partner more than 10 years ago in Oak Valley Community Bank.

Our relationship with Oak Valley began in 2008, when University Park was in the midst of a major redevelopment. This was a complex project with layered leasehold interests involving multiple municipalities. It involved public and private partnerships and was extremely high profile. In other words, it wasn’t just a challenge — it was a twisted knot of challenges. To see this project through, we needed to partner with a bank that had the stamina to underwrite this complex credit facility and provide construction and term financing for future developments.

Oak Valley met us where we were, helped us untwist that knot, and inspired us to see how we could get to the next level. We forged a relationship based in trust and support, and over the years we’ve been able to truly collaborate with Oak Valley thanks to their clear communication and easy rapport.

“The people who lead Oak Valley Community Bank share our values, and that has made our work together that much more invaluable,” Kevin Huber says. “Without their open minds and enthusiasm, their can-do spirit and belief in what we do, I’m sure we wouldn’t have been as successful as we have been. Their support has been invaluable to us.”

The feeling is mutual, according to Cathy Ghan. “The collaborative effort from each of us — from the top down — contributes to the whole,” she says. “We stay attuned to what is happening within and outside of the relationship and have open communication on possible impacts to our respective businesses. We pay attention with an open mind and have strong internal support systems to carry out our goals and objectives. We also share in each other’s celebrations.”

Those celebrations have included the success of University Park, which has become more than a business campus — it’s now a beloved Stockton landmark. Oak Valley has financed eight projects within University Park, from the parking lot to the new Grupe Huber headquarters in the Spruce Building.

“There is nothing more inspiring and motivating than to watch the progression of UP over the past 12 years, and to know that OVCB was a catalyst in this growth … one building at a time,” says Cathy Ghan.

Patmon Company Inc.: A Committed Partnership

Grand Opening of Modesto Self-Storage (StorQuest)

Investing in Students: Reflecting On 9 Years of Service with UOP

Oak Valley Community Bank: A Partner with a Can-Do Spirit

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Beyond the Blueprint