Chicago, O.C. Realtors Form Joint Venture

ORANGE — In a move that will give it a national presence, Orange County’s biggest apartment manager, Western National Group, said Friday that it has formed a joint venture with a Chicago-based commercial property manager.

The new property-management venture with Jupiter Realty Group of Chicago will be called Jupiter Western National and will be based in Orange, a Western spokeswoman said. It becomes the 14th-largest apartment manager in the United States.

“This was simply an opportunity to give us access to a lot more business,” said Michael K. Hayde, president of Western National, which will continue to exist under the terms of the joint venture.

The two privately held companies did not disclose financial details. Steve F. Hallsey, president of property management for Western National, will head the new company.

Friday’s announcement is the second major move this year for Orange-based Western National, which has $1.2 billion in assets.

In January, Western said it would merge with Santa Margarita Co., the Orange County ranching and land entity, to create one of the state’s largest real estate concerns. That merger has not been finalized, but it will not affect the joint venture, said Terry Clarke, Western National spokeswoman.