About Us

Sharing a Vision for a Stronger
Orange County Community

The mission of Orange County Shared Spaces Foundation, since 2008, has been to support a quality and affordable multi-tenant nonprofit center, The Village at 17th Street, offering a collaborative and stable environment for Orange County’s nonprofit organizations.

The Foundation’s leadership brings experience that spans the sectors of philanthropy, finance, nonprofit organizational development, real estate and development, and architecture and design. A supporting organization of The Orange County Community Foundation, the Orange County Shared Spaces Foundation joins a network of more than 150 Multi-Tenant Nonprofit Centers in the United States and Canada. The Orange County Community Foundation plays a lead role in the management and oversight of the nonprofit center.

HISTORY - The Innovators Behind the Vision

orange-county-shared-spaces-william-podlich-warren-lortie

The Village at 17th Street was launched through the dynamic efforts of two dedicated, like-minded philanthropists. William Podlich, retired PIMCO co-founder, was in Colorado when he saw a reference to a nearby nonprofit center in a local newspaper, visited the facility, and discovered there was a national Nonprofit Center Network dedicated to the concept. Podlich contacted Shelley Hoss, president of the Orange County Community Foundation, who agreed to help bring the idea home to Orange County. She connected Podlich with another philanthropic innovator, architect and developer Warren Lortie.

The two men found a building in Santa Ana and set up the Orange County Shared Spaces Foundation to buy it. Podlich oversaw much of the fundraising and Lortie, working pro bono, handled the renovation, space planning, contracting and leasing. The project cost nearly $4 million, including a $2.5 million first mortgage that was provided by Lortie. Almost $1 million came from charitable donations. Lortie and Podlich also provided private loans to support the refinancing of the building and ongoing renovations, and later donated directly to building operations. The 33,800-square-foot structure needed earthquake retrofitting, elevator restoration, new air conditioning, new parking lot, and energy-efficient lighting. 

After 20 years of serving on boards, Podlich’s original motivation was to focus on a philanthropic investment that could benefit many organizations at once. The Village seeks to do that by offering nonprofits a place where they can rent office space with reasonable lease rates, share back office services and pick up intangible benefits from clustering together. By embracing the nonprofit center model, Podlich and Lortie’s long-term vision was for the Village at 17th Street to be self-supporting, with the rents paying for the mortgage and other costs. Today, that vision has come to life, and the nonprofit center serves as one of the most successful shared-space models in the country.

The Village at 17th Street Concept

The shared space concept is based on the premise that the ability of nonprofits to provide quality, affordable social services depends on their ability to develop and maintain crucial infrastructure resources. More than just offices, shared space facilities are sustainable centers that actually help nonprofit organizations fulfill their missions and strengthen their communities.

Promoting collaborative space and supportive services can help build a thriving and sustainable nonprofit sector in a number of ways, including increasing visibility of nonprofits in the community, lowering overhead costs, and supporting the creation of new initiatives.

Orange County Shared Spaces
Foundation Board

Doug Holte
President

President,
Irvine Co Office Properties

Warren Lortie
Vice President

Retired CEO,
WLA Investments, Inc.

Shelley Hoss
Secretary & Treasurer

President and CEO,
Orange County Community Foundation

Dick Allen

Retired,
Angel Investor

Reshma Block

Chair,
Orange County Community Foundation
Founder, Block Family Foundation

Dan Bolar

Partner,
Armanino LLP

Julie Hill

Director,
Anthem

William Podlich

Retired CEO,
PIMCO

Jeff Randolph

Founder,
Avalon Financial Group, Inc.

Steering Committee

Tracy Branson

Chief Financial Officer,
Orange County
Community Foundation

Casey Ellis

Property Manager,
RiverRock Real Estate Group

Parker Core

Project Coordinator,
RiverRock Real Estate Group

Shelley Hoss

President and CEO,
Orange County
Community Foundation

Warren Lortie

Retired CEO,
WLA Investments, Inc.

Anne Olin

President and CEO,
Charitable Ventures

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