Randy Goodson
Randy Goodson started his community development career acquiring large land holdings for development with Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) previously known as Leucadia National Corporation. He was instrumental in its acquisition of HomeFed Corporation (HOFD) and the evolution of HOFD into one of the larger national community development companies. In the 1990s, Mr. Goodson was an owner and managing member of Accretive Investments, LLC and Goodkin & Associates, Inc., real property investment and development management firms specializing in the acquisition, financing, construction, and development of many large mixed-use and planned communities.
Mr. Goodson got his start with KPMG’s Financial Industry Services Group and was later recruited by PwC Real Estate Industry Services Group, focusing on domestic and international residential, resort, and office development projects. During his time at PwC, Goodson worked in post-Cold War Eastern Europe on the redevelopment of several large towns and villages.
Mr. Goodson was sent over to Europe with an initial contract with the Liechtenstein family, who had thousands of acres of land and a large variety of properties that they had reclaimed ownership of after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Collaboration with the Liechtenstein family began with two picturesque villages (Lednice and Valtice) on the Austro-Czech border, where they owned the majority of the land. Lednice and Valtice were small enough that they were left unscathed by the war, but there had been no development since pre-WW2, and Mr. Goodson was brought in to help assist in this area as well as other projects.
This experience shaped the principles which would guide Goodson throughout his career. It was during his time in Europe that Goodson realized the significance of creating dynamic, pedestrian-focused town center-oriented communities. The villages and cities were structured in the town center-focused and pedestrian-centric manner of most European communities, with amenities in the middle creating all the action right in the center of town.
In the United States, all the community developments were at this time centered around features that were deemed “top-dollar,” like shopping centers, golf courses, and resorts. However, through his experiences working in Eastern Europe and with the Liechtenstein family, Mr. Goodson realized the benefits of empowering people by emphasizing a pedestrian scale and focus. By creating a space focused on how people want to live, without being dependent on a vehicle, residents become more connected to their communities.
When he returned to the States, Mr. Goodson was fortunate enough to put a team together and travel the country, visiting existing communities that followed this model. While on the plane, in between visiting these communities, they would design San Elijo Hills, Mr. Goodson’s first large-scale community development. San Elijo Hills would go on to be awarded the Gold Award in the “MasterPlanned Community of the Year” category at “The Nationals,” and the Gold Nugget Grand Award in the “Community/Town Plan” category at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC). San Elijo Hills was also named “Best Master-Planned Community” at MAME.** Mr. Goodson was even awarded Citizen of the Year by the City of San Marcos, California, where San Elijo Hills is located.
Randy Goodson was the team leader and is a partner in the development of a downtown for Superior in Boulder County, Colorado. The development included 1,400 homes and apartments and one million square feet of commercial and recreation space, plus 500 hotel rooms in three hotels. Randy assembled the land and brought the community and neighbors together on a comprehensive village plan to create Downtown Superior.
Today, Goodson continues to implement the “village-style approach” to community development where every home is within walking or biking distance to the grocery store and village center. Goodson creates innovative, mixed-use town centers, designed for the land to be appreciated with both an artful focus and effective use. Many of Mr. Goodson’s projects are regarded as some of the finest planned communities in California. The newest community is Mayberry, Colorado Springs and it benefits from three decades of lessons learned.
Mr. Goodson was the leader who brought the following communities to life from scratch including the following mixed-used developments:
- San Elijo Hills, San Marcos, CA - 3,550 homes plus town center on 2,000 acres
- Otay Land Company, Chula Vista, CA – over 7,000 homes plus extensive commercial uses
- Downtown Superior, Boulder, Colorado - 1,400 homes, 3 hotels, one million sf of commercial space on 157 acres
- Paradise Valley, Fairfield, CA - 1,446 homes in a master-planned golf course community
- Harbor Club, San Diego, CA – 42 Story, 201 unit mixed-use high rise Tower
- Numerous residential mixed-use projects in the City of San Diego
Goodson aims to create communities where families enjoy their lives together, with affordability in mind. Mayberry Colorado Springs will be affordably priced and planned with a focus on human action spaces and opportunities. Goodson pulls his inspiration for Mayberry from Stapleton in Denver. He went as far as to take the planners from El Paso County to tour Stapleton with the Stapleton Land Planner that was also the planner for Mayberry. He harkens Mayberry, Colorado Springs to the Andy Griffith Show, a tight-knit community where you know your neighbors, and your residence is more than just a house but a place in the community.
