Bob Naito has over 35 years of development experience working for his own account, as a fee developer, and for the Bill Naito Company, a family-owned business that specializes in the rehabilitation of historic buildings in Portland Oregon.
While at the Naito Company, he worked closely with his father, Bill Naito, a prominent civic leader and real estate entrepreneur, on projects that totaled over two million square feet of apartment, office, industrial and retail development.
In the early 90’s, Bob Naito branched out from Norcrest China Company and, with his father, formed a partnership to distribute Dr. Martens footwear in the United States. In addition, Bob started several retail businesses of his own including an ice cream store, a bakery, a chocolate truffle shop and a specialty bicycle shop.
Following the death of his father in 1996, Bob left the family business to pursue new development opportunities. Bob also volunteered countless hours to complete his father’s last civic project—the Lan Su Chinese Garden in Old Town/Chinatown. He chaired the fundraising campaign and the first board of directors that built and opened the garden.
Later working as a fee developer for Ecotrust, he developed the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center that has received national recognition for combining sustainable development and historic preservation. Other projects have included moving and restoring the historic Simon Benson House for Portland State; developing a national headquarters building for the Delta Society; conversion of a vacant office building to a secure residential treatment facility; and a LEED Platinum renovation of the 150 Harrison Building.
Other projects of his have included helping Portland State University and the City move the historic Simon Benson House onto the PSU campus and restore it as a visitor center and alumni office; developing the national headquarters for the Delta Society in Bellevue Washington; a $6 million conversion of an existing office building to a residential treatment facility; and most recently the LEED Platinum renovation of an office building located on the historic Halprin Blocks in downtown Portland.
In early 2007, Bob acquired the Nichols Boat Works, a 5.27 acre brownfield industrial site in Hood River Oregon for the development of commercial space and a select service hotel. Naito Development completed an environmental remediation and rezoned property from heavy industrial to mixed-use commercial before constructing an 88-room Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel and 30,000 sq. ft. retail & office building on the property.
Bob has been active in the Portland community. He is the founding president of the Portland Classical Chinese Garden and chaired the fundraising campaign for this $12.8 million project. He has served on the boards of a number of other local organizations including the Housing Authority of Portland, Portland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Portland Rose Festival, and the Portland Building Owners and Managers Association.
Bob has a B.A. from Harvard College and an MBA from Stanford Business School.
Will Naito joined the company in 2009, after managing the development of mobile payment applications in the mobile platform services industry. Previously, Will worked for R&H Construction, both in the field on the international award winning Adidas North American Headquarters, and in the pre-construction services department.
Will worked closely on the redevelopment of the SOM-designed 150 Harrison building, one of the first LEED Platinum-certified redevelopment projects in Oregon. Overall, the Harrison Building achieved over 51% reduction in energy consumption, 40% reduction in water usage, and diverted more than 146 tons of construction waste from landfills.
Will managed the redevelopment of the Grove Hotel; a unique 113-room boutique property in the heart of Portland's historic Chinatown neighborhood. The project was a complex undertaking that included an extensive historic renovation, a new high-rise tower, three restaurants, and tenant retail spaces on a challenging 11,000 sq. ft. urban site.
Will serves on the board of the Old Town Chinatown Community Association, where he is currently leading the restoration effort for Portland’s Chinese Gate. He has also served on various civic planning and advisory committees.
Will has a B.A. in Economics & Business from Colorado College.