A profile of the other Bill Ostrem
August 13th, 2007,I recently “met” my namesake, Bill Ostrem, online a few weeks ago and was fortunate to be able to exchange some emails with him. I maintain a Google alert for my name and was notified of this nice profile of Bill in the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper. Bill appears to be willing to go the extra mile and pay extra costs to create better communities.
Here’s a quote from the article, which was published back in January:
There are seven master-planned communities east of the 805 freeway in Chula Vista, including Rancho Del Ray, Otay Ranch and Rolling Hills Ranch. But to most, the generic term for the city’s sprawling east side is Eastlake.
“We’ve had people from England, Australia, all over the world come here to look at our master-planned communities,” said Jim Sandoval, Chula Vista’s planning and development director. “And Eastlake set the standard.”
At first blush Ostrem seems the stereotypical big-time developer: 47 years old, silver-haired, big-bellied, drives a Denali SUV and golfs.
A bachelor until three years ago, Ostrem says his ideal Saturday is “maybe a round of golf and then check out some model homes.”
But talk to fellow developers, local politicos and old friends, and a more nuanced picture emerges: a lover of architecture, genuinely community-minded and harboring an almost obsessive attention to his business and its details.
“Some developers create a great product, but they are not as committed to giving back to the community as Bill Ostrem,” said state Assemblywoman Shirley Horton, R-78th, who was mayor of Chula Vista from 1994 to 2002.
“You get the sense Bill really cares about the communities he builds.”
Eastlake has won “best new home community” for 10 years running in the Union-Tribune’s annual Best of San Diego contest, and it is regularly recognized for the Eastlake Educational Foundation, which raised nearly $2 million for neighborhood schools.
The company also ponies up every year for Fourth of July fireworks at the Olympic Training Center. It built the Eastlake Little League complex at the behest of neighborhood parents.
“We don’t just roll out subdivisions,” said Ostrem, who lives in Rancho Santa Fe. “We get involved with the community. I think that makes Eastlake a little different.”