John Kilroy, chairman and CEO of Los Angeles-based Kilroy Realty, says he understands why so many developers have invested in Texas. He points to what some property executives have said are policies that make it harder to do business on the West Coast than in some other regions.
Kilroy's real estate investment trust owns office and residential properties in California, Washington and Texas, and he has called for other property firms to fight for policies that support the industry.
Asked last week during a third-quarter earnings call whether the company would shift resources to Texas because of rules instituted by elected officials in other markets, Kilroy said, "I think everyone knows I'm kind of a hard-ass when it comes to these people having their policies right."
He later added that "as a company, I'm not going to make a call yet if we should invest more in this area and less in another area. But we're pretty logical people and you had a very logical question. That's about as specific as I'm going to get because I'm not going to rock boats in various places."
A Kilroy representative didn't respond to a request to comment on policies Kilroy had in mind. On an earnings call this summer, Kilroy said he supported recalling San Francisco Board of Education members this year after they sparked opposition for keeping schools closed in the pandemic and the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin after he was criticized for being soft on crime. Kilroy also said he supported the election of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell in 2021 who he described as more inclined to support businesses and law and order. Kilroy in that call decried crime and homelessness problems in cities where his company operates.
In the call last week, Kilroy said now "we're starting to see some real improvement, but we probably have four years of abuse in some of these cities that have just lived in La La Land and now they're having to come to reality." He added that "directionally, I feel we've made a difference. It's because people have united together across the political spectrum because they're sick and tired of some of the bad stuff policy wise that's going on. I'm optimistic, but we need to go further."