Meridian, a full-service real estate developer specializing in acquiring and developing real estate facilities for the healthcare sector, announced today that R.J. Sommerdyke has joined the company’s acquisition team in Southern California. Sommerdyke will play a key role in expanding Meridian’s platform of acquiring value-add healthcare properties throughout Southern California.  

“We are very excited to welcome R.J. to our team and expand our presence in Southern California,” said John Pollock, Chief Operating Officer of Meridian, “R.J.’s experience and extensive relationships throughout the region will be a major asset to our organization.”  

In his new position, Sommerdyke will be responsible for all aspects of acquiring value-add healthcare properties and client-driven development sites in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. “We’re looking to aggressively expand our foothold in Southern California,” said Pollock. “We estimate the size of our target healthcare market in Southern California to be approximately three times larger than that of Northern California, which presents a tremendous opportunity to do deals.”

“Meridian is an industry leader in the healthcare sector and I’m extremely excited to be part of such a remarkable organization,” said Sommerdyke. “They have been highly successful in Northern California and I’m looking forward to helping build upon that success in Southern California.”  

Meridian’s entry into the Southern California market kicked off earlier this year with the $37.5 million purchase of Cotton Medical Center in Pasadena. “As evidenced by the acquisition of Cotton, Meridian possesses the expertise, capital and focus necessary to effectively execute in today’s competitive environment,” said Sommerdyke. “I’m very excited about our growth plans and what the future holds.” 

Sommerdyke will be based out of Meridian’s Irvine office. He previously served as Director of Acquisitions for Project Dimensions, Inc., where he was responsible for the acquisition, development and dispositions of office, industrial and residential properties throughout the west coast. Prior to Project Dimensions, Sommerdyke spent five years as the Director of Acquisitions for Centra Realty Corporation, where he developed and acquired over one million square feet of commercial properties and became one of the largest private commercial developers in Orange County. Sommerdyke attended the University of Southern California, where he graduated from the Marshall School of Business with a master’s degree.

For more information, see mpcca.com.