Our Team

VERDE PACIFIC INVESTMENTS, LLC

James Hunter
Melanie Long

VERDE PACIFIC BUILDERS, INC.

Scott Steele
Tony McGuire

VERDE PACIFIC REALTY, INC.

Nora Vigil
Melanie Guevara

James Hunter

James Hunter has been the driving force behind the group since its inception in the late 1960s. While primarily focusing his 45-year career on real estate, Mr. Hunter has also been involved in such entrepreneurial ventures as oil and gas, construction, food, and computers.

His extensive real estate experience includes developing, owning and managing industrial, office, retail and residential properties totaling in excess of 6,000,000 square feet and more than 8,500 acres of land. Mr. Hunter began his real estate career as Manager of Corporate Leasing and Property Administration on a contract basis for a major trust company.

His portfolio encompassed $200,000,000 in assets. He was founder of the Churchill Corporation; currently a $300,000,000 publicly traded commercial construction company. He was also a major investor in private companies involved in commercial electric, construction, oil and gas, food processing, and high tech ventures.

Mr. Hunter has been on a number of private and public company boards of directors, as well as industry organizations; such as The Young President’s Organization and the Urban Land Institute. He is currently a member of the World Presidents Organization. Mr. Hunter holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and earned qualification as a Chartered Accountant.
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Melanie Long, CPA

Melanie Long worked in the construction industry for seven years in Atlanta, Georgia. As the Controller, she managed all accounting activities and served as the management information administrator.

One of her main projects was the reconstruction and restoration of the Albany State University campus, which was flooded twice in the centennial flood in 1994 and again in 1998. This project totaled $150 million in historic renovation and new construction and received $64 million in FEMA funding. She also completed the FEMA / Inspector General’s Audit. Mrs. Long joined the Verde Pacific team as the Project Controller for the $90 million renovation of the Ritz-Carlton Club & Residences at 690 Market Street in San Francisco.
She oversaw all accounting, financing and lender relationship aspects of the project.

As the Chief Financial Officer for Verde Pacific, she and her staff manage all accounting, financing and tax responsibilities of the company. Mrs. Long graduated cum laude from the University of South Alabama with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics. She earned a second Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and her Certified Public Accountant license. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of CPAs.
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Scott Steele

Scott Steele is responsible for implementing and managing the development, operation and construction of Verde Pacific projects from conception to completion.

Mr. Steele came to Verde Pacific with over 24 years in general contracting and has been involved in development projects for 15 years. His experience spans multi-family condominium conversions; seismic upgrades; tilt-up concrete buildings up to 300,000 square feet; multiple build-to-suit construction for developers and end users; GMP pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities (design/build); micro-electronic manufacturing clean rooms; demolition and reconstruction of multi-level concrete and steel frame buildings; retail/commercial/industrial tenant improvements; parking structures, above ground and below existing historic buildings; and managing multiple projects and budgets. Most recently, he has been Development Manager for the Ritz-Carlton/Hunter Joint Venture of the Chronicle Building on 690 Market Street in San Francisco. Mr. Steele is a California General Contractor and holds the following licenses #916426 and #933474.
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Tony McGuire

Tony McGuire joined Verde Pacific in 2005 as the on-site Project Manager for the historic renovation and construction of the 25-story Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences at 690 Market Street in San Francisco, which opened in November 2007.

He simultaneously managed a related seven-story conversion of an historic office to condominiums at 942 Market Street in San Francisco, completed in January 2008. Prior to that, he worked as a Project Manager in the general contracting field for over ten years.

His management experience includes a wide variety of construction ranging from new concrete shell buildings, steel structures, seismic upgrades, laboratory construction, high-end office improvements, and retail centers. He has been involved in managing all phases of such construction projects from planning and estimating through construction and close out. Mr. McGuire holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and Construction Management from The Catholic University of America in Washington DC, as well as an E.I.T. Certificate.          
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Nora Vigil CPM®, RPA®

Nora Vigil has immersed herself since 1985 in the distinctively demanding real estate market of the San Francisco Bay Area. She has been involved in a variety of disciplines including project management, property management, asset management, leasing, acquisitions and dispositions.

Her very first project was the renovation of an office building in downtown San Francisco, and the process to have it listed on the prestigious National Register of Historic Places. Ms. Vigil went on to manage several prominent Class A properties for Bay Area owners and developers, and by the mid-1990s had responsibility for a billion-dollar REIT portfolio – 4.5 million square feet of office, retail, industrial, and R&D properties. The western half of the United States was her territory, demonstrating not only great traveling stamina, but also the “bring it on” mentality needed to thrive in a challenging diversity of markets and jurisdictions.

In her current capacity, Ms. Vigil oversees the property management and brokerage functions of Verde Pacific Realty, Inc. From time to time, she lends assistance to the development process by providing research and financial analysis. Ms. Vigil received a Bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Hawaii. She holds a current California Real Estate License, is a Real Property Administrator (RPA), and a Certified Property Manager (CPM).
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Melanie Guevara

Melanie Guevara began her career in the commercial real estate industry in 1999, where she managed the leasing, lease administration and marketing of office, retail, R&D, and industrial properties in the San Francisco Bay Area comprising of up to 750,000 square feet. In addition to leasing, Ms. Guevara manages building operations where she is responsible for maintaining landlord/tenant relations, supervision of vendors/contractors, administration of vendor contracts, tenant improvements and various related projects as a Property Manager for historical mixed-use Class B properties in downtown areas of San Francisco and Oakland.

At Verde Pacific Realty, Ms. Guevara brings a full range of experience with office and retail leasing, marketing, landlord and tenant negotiations, and market analysis, enabling her to create successful transactions for buildings owners and tenants. Ms. Guevara currently holds a California Real Estate Broker’s License and is a Member of International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
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