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Los Angeles

Compass to launch LA new dev division on heels of Hana Cha hire

Hana Cha and Morgan Ball
Hana Cha and Morgan Ball

Real estate brokerage upstart Compass is set to launch its west coast new development platform, after poaching two members of the Agency’s new development team, The Real Deal has learned.

Helming the division will be Hana Cha and Morgan Ball, who served as managing director of new development and director of new development at the Agency, respectively. Cha’s move was first reported by TRD last week. Both executives will report to senior managing director Justin D’Adamo.

At the Agency, Cha was responsible for managing over $2 billion in marketing and sales mandates, which included Los Angeles’ largest mixed-use residential project, the 504-unit Oceanwide Plaza in DTLA. Ball worked on Wanda’s One Beverly Hills, a mixed use project from Richard Meier & Partners, according to Compass.

A Compass spokesperson said that while the company has projects in the pipeline, it isn’t ready to disclose them.

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“Compass New Development has established itself as a leader in marketing, technology, and analytics, which, coupled with a tremendous pipeline in New York, will facilitate the creation of a truly successful national platform,” Ball said in a statement.

In New York, Compass has made some inroads in new development, thanks in part to its relationship with RFR Holding chief Aby Rosen, a major New York developer. The firm had exclusives on $1.53 billion worth of the new development inventory as of March, according to a survey by TRD.

However, new development expert Louise Sunshine recently departed the firm, just months after being tapped as a consultant. She appears to have clashed with David Snider, a Bain Capital alumnus who serves as Compass’ chief operating officer.

“They’re very data driven. And with youth comes a certain arrogance,” she previously told TRD. “They don’t have a healthy respect for experience or knowledge. I think the key word is respect. I did not feel respected in any way, shape or form, and when you don’t feel respected, you have to go.”

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