Hailing a new location in Anaheim, California, this year’s Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) will combine all things housing art, science, and business into two jam-packed days. Held on May 24 and 25, with pre-conference events on May 22 and 23, PCBC, produced by the California Building Industry Association, is excited to gather all events into one place after two years of segmented programming.
To learn more about what’s new this year at PCBC, BUILDER tapped Greg Fuson, vice president of events and experience at PCBC, for details.
BUILDER: In addition to the new location, what’s fresh this year for PCBC?
Fuson: One of the great strengths of PCBC is our partnerships with organizations that are driving innovation and thought leadership in housing. This year, that includes teaming up with Ivory Innovations, a nonprofit created by Ivory Homes to catalyze new solutions in housing affordability. Their annual Ivory Prize will be awarded at a lunch event at PCBC, showcasing the winners in categories of construction and design, finance, and public policy and regulatory reform.
We also have a longstanding collaboration with Zonda and its senior team of analysts and advisers, which we’re expanding this year to inject even more content and creativity into the program. In addition to Zonda speakers leading several big sessions, the company is hosting and co-developing our Innovation Stage programming, which will feature top experts on building technologies, materials, systems, and responsive design.
BUILDER: How do you feel the move to Anaheim will benefit the event?
Fuson: There’s a certain freshness and energy that comes from being in a new city after so many years in San Francisco. We specifically chose Anaheim because it’s in the heart of Orange County, which is the hub of so much innovation in residential design and development, including some really cool adaptive reuse projects. Also, the convention center there has a fantastic mix of indoor-outdoor space that’s perfect for blending business and social interaction. And for anyone who wants to make it a work/play family trip, I hear there’s a pretty good theme park destination nearby, too.
BUILDER: How is PCBC bringing all programs back into one event?
Fuson: We staged multiple, smaller events in 2021 and 2022 in response to COVID-19 uncertainties, basically segmenting our offerings because we didn’t know whether a large trade show would even be possible. While this made sense from a planning standpoint, we found that some of the energy was lost when our audience was split up. PCBC’s tagline is “The Art, Science and Business of Housing,” and it really is the convergence of all of those elements that creates something powerful and cohesive. This year and going forward, we’re holding all of our offerings—exhibit floor, buyer-seller exchanges, awards programs, tours, and the full spectrum of educational sessions—in a single gathering.
BUILDER: What makes this year’s show extra exciting for both exhibitors and attendees?
Fuson: This is such a great time for coming together and figuring out what the future of home building is going to look like. We’re through the pandemic restrictions, we’re working our way out of the housing slowdown, and there are so many new technologies and creative solutions out there to address the challenges of housing attainability, sustainability, and performance. Those challenges are very real and won’t just go away, but PCBC is where the industry’s smartest, most forward-thinking people and companies bring their ingenuity to bear on them.
BUILDER: Are there special events PCBC-goers should be sure to attend?
Fuson: It’s hard to pick favorites—you love all your kids the same, right? —but I’ll highlight two because they showcase the things that make our industry so great: people and projects.
First is the California Homebuilding Foundation Hall of Fame Awards dinner, which is always a who’s who gathering of industry leaders. The 2023 incoming honorees are Adrian Foley of Brookfield Properties; Michael Maples and Gregg Nelson of Trumark Homes; Leonard Miller of BrightSky Residential; and the late John Shea of J.F. Shea Co., who died in October 2022 at age 96.
Second is the Gold Nugget Awards ceremony, or as we sometimes refer to it, the “Academy Awards” of community design. This will be the 60th annual event recognizing the best in design, planning, and development across a wide range of categories: single-family, multifamily, commercial, retail, seniors housing, affordable housing, site planning, and interior design.
BUILDER: What do you think attendees can learn from this year’s keynote speaker, Kudzi Chikumbu?
Fuson: Kudzi is global head of creator marketing for TikTok, which is seeing massive growth and upending traditional information search for younger generations. Besides finding out why your kids spend so much time on the platform, you’ll learn how to authentically connect with your audience in ways that cut through the noise and distraction of our online lives, and also how to fix it when your messaging gets off track. Or, as he puts it, how to “show up digitally.” In addition to Kudzi on day two of PCBC, we’re also holding an opening keynote with a dynamic speaker to be announced soon.
BUILDER: What else should the audience know about PCBC 2023?
Fuson: I’ve alluded to this already, but the best thing about PCBC truly is the people who participate—leaders and innovators across all disciplines of home building: design, marketing, operational excellence, capital markets, construction technology, manufacturing, R&D. We realize that spontaneous conversations are often the most valuable part of the experience, and we’re very deliberate about the size and layout of the space to make it more likely you’ll have those opportunities. It’s not the largest home building event, but it’s certainly the highest concentration of influential people and companies—and that more than anything is why you want to be there.
