Business Journal homes in on a dozen residential developers who, surprise, are building in the L.A. market.

Randy Johnson, 54

Co-President and Chief Financial Officer

Playa Capital Co. LLC, Playa Vista

Johnson calls Playa Vista – the Marina del Rey-adjacent community he has played a large role in developing – his home. With the first phase of the massive planned community nearly complete, the veteran developer is gearing up to start its second phase: the Village, which will include 2,800 homes and roughly 200,000 square feet of retail.

Reason I’m a Residential Developer: I was initially drawn to residential development and real estate in general because no two deals are alike. From the beginning, this industry has intrigued me. Essentially, I enjoy everything about it other than the entitlement process.

If I Weren’t a Residential Developer I’d Be: If I wasn’t involved in real estate, I would either be a professional baseball player or a hair model.

Most Challenging Development: The Playa Vista development has been the most challenging so far.

Best Career Moment: My involvement in connecting residents with their homes at Playa Vista. There have been several instances where couples have purchased a home in the community through my introduction, and then expanded into larger units as their families grew. This is really a testament to what a wonderful community Playa Vista has become.

Worst: My worst career moments are when we go to market to sell land on which various builders bid, and someone has to lose. This happened many times in phase one, and we are currently going through it again with the mixed-use parcel in the Village.

My Colleagues Don’t Know: My wife does not trust me to fix anything in our house.

Favorite Project I Didn’t Develop: My favorite residential project in the Los Angeles area has to be Windsor Square/Larchmont Village. The neighborhood was constructed in the early 1900s, and there is such an attention to detail in homes, streetscape and the retail.

Best Thing About Developing in L.A. County: The tremendous architectural talent in Southern California.

Worst: The difficulty in obtaining the right to build and construction defect litigation issues for attached housing.

The Developer I Would Be If I Weren’t Me: Who wouldn’t want to be Donald Bren of the Irvine Co.?

Bucket List: I would love to have everyone in my family live in Los Angeles at one time.