For families weighing a return to Pacific Palisades after a wildfire, the decision involves more than replacing a house. It means working out whether insurance proceeds and savings can cover construction, whether another stretch of displacement is manageable and whether the neighborhood they left will again feel like home.
Fred Cordova III, who lives on Palisades Beach Road in Santa Monica with his wife, Christina, a teacher at Palisades Charter High School, is building a business around helping property owners work through those choices. His company, PacQuest Homes, brings the rebuilding process under one coordinated platform, with different options for owners who want to return, sell or maintain a financial stake in the community’s recovery.
The proposition is that coordinating the construction of multiple homes at scale can make a complicated process more predictable. The larger question is whether those efficiencies can help residents find a financially workable way back. “Every property owner’s situation is different,” Cordova, PacQuest’s founder and chief executive, said in the company’s September launch announcement. “Some families want to rebuild and return home.” Insurance questions and the tax and family considerations of selling can also shape what owners decide.
The financial strain reaches beyond any single rebuilding model. Jessica Rogers, executive director of the Palisades Long Term Recovery Group, said survivors are juggling the cost of displacement with complicated insurance and rebuilding decisions. “Our survivors have been bridging gaps every day,” Rogers said in a statement. “They are paying millions of dollars out of pocket to rebuild homes. They are fighting with insurance companies. They are navigating mortgage payments, temporary housing, construction costs and an extraordinarily complicated recovery process.”
Pali LTRG helps households address needs that remain after insurance and other assistance. According to organizers, the group joined Global Empowerment Mission and World Renew for an unmet-needs workshop at The Pali Hub from Oct. 12 through 23, designed to document remaining needs and help inform requests for recovery resources.
Access to the people guiding survivors through that process has also faced uncertainty. On Sept. 30, Rep. Judy Chu’s office announced that FEMA had released $6.6 million in previously approved funding for disaster case management serving Eaton and Palisades fire survivors, as the program faced a funding cliff. “When we talk about a funding gap, we have to remember what that number means on the ground,” Rogers said. “It means a senior resident trying to understand an insurance determination. It means a family trying to figure out how to rebuild when the numbers don't add up. These are not abstract budget issues. These are people's lives.”
That need for individual guidance is part of the context in which Cordova is developing PacQuest’s coordinated approach.
For the local team of real estate experts from Santa Monica and the Palisades working with him, the urgency extends beyond construction schedules. Each additional month away gives displaced families more time to establish routines elsewhere, potentially making a return harder to contemplate.
Patrick Norton, PacQuest’s vice president of investor relations, grew up in the Palisades. He sees the time required to rebuild as a threat to the connections residents hope to recover. “New homes matter, but the reason anyone wanted to live here was the people,” Norton said in written interview responses.
PacQuest’s model combines elements of production homebuilding with custom home design for individual properties. Floor plans can repeat across its projects, while exterior treatments and finish packages vary. Standardized plans, coordinated purchasing and consistent construction teams are intended to reduce the expense and uncertainty of treating every home as a separate custom project. “One custom home at a time cannot meet that need on any reasonable timeline,” Norton said.
PacQuest’s two funds are designed to pool investor capital and qualifying property equity to finance construction across multiple lots. The company says this approach aligns property owners with investors to deliver better, safer, faster and more affordable homes. The company says its $10 million Fund I aims to build 12 homes in a year. Its $30 million Fund II targets five construction starts a month over 36 months, for a total of 180 homes, with a planned exit within four years. Those projections depend on financing, permitting, construction and market conditions.
Norton said PacQuest is targeting about $450 per square foot in hard construction costs for homes built to a custom standard. He said those costs can exceed $1,000 per square foot on individually managed custom builds. PacQuest’s investor materials account separately for land, financing and other project expenses. Actual costs depend on the property and scope of work.
PacQuest describes five possible paths. An owner can rebuild and return, with the company coordinating the process through move-in. Another can rebuild before selling, with PacQuest overseeing development and sale. Others can explore contributing qualifying property equity to a fund, sell their lot directly to PacQuest or retain ownership while considering a later decision.
Eligible owners may be able to exchange qualifying lot equity for a stake in a fund that develops multiple properties, subject to the offering terms. The fund may make cash distributions over its term. PacQuest’s published materials say fund investments are limited to verified accredited investors and can result in a loss of capital.
JoAnn Horeni, PacQuest’s chief of staff, has worked with Cordova for years. She described the platform as a response to the burden placed on homeowners who must make complicated development decisions while recovering from a disaster. “We want to be the answer for what comes next when someone is left standing in the rubble of a tragedy,” Horeni said in written responses. “We want to help lift back up what has fallen, better and stronger.”
Her vision of recovery is specific: grandparents returning alongside younger generations, chairs appearing along Sunset Boulevard before the parade, after-school gatherings and neighborhood trick-or-treating.
Those familiar routines help explain why speed matters to the company’s team. A completed house is one milestone. Restoring enough everyday life for families to want to return is another.
Cosbey Watson, PacQuest’s vice president of development, oversees its construction strategy, including work with builder partners and specialized consultants. He said fire-resistant design and construction features are a priority, alongside efforts to improve scheduling and cost predictability. Watson also hopes to see institutions such as Corpus Christi School and its church return, connecting residential rebuilding with the gathering places that give a neighborhood continuity. “The homes we build will be the cornerstone of the community and will contribute to the second act of the Palisades story,” Watson said in written responses.
For Sam Lagana, PacQuest’s community ambassador, that next chapter should preserve the relationships formed through schools, sports, the arts and faith communities, while preparing the neighborhood for future generations.
His role involves listening to residents, connecting them with resources and helping them consider what their decisions mean beyond the immediate rebuilding period. “What we’re building is for a couple of generations, not just today,” Lagana said in written responses. “Focus on the future while benefiting in the moment.”
PacQuest’s ambitions will ultimately be tested through completed homes, actual costs and the experiences of the owners who choose its different pathways. Its team’s stated measure of success is whether families can again make a life in the community they chose.
Horeni imagines that outcome in a homeowner’s first moments back: someone who had believed returning was impossible walking through the door and feeling relief. “I want someone who thought they couldn’t come back to stand in their home and feel, ‘It’s going to be okay now,’” she said.
PacQuest Homes will present “Let’s Bring Pacific Palisades Home!” next Tuesday at Towne Hall in Pacific Palisades, in cooperation with Palisades Towne Hall, Posse 4 Positivity and the Pali Long Term Recovery Group. A community gathering with complimentary In-N-Out burgers starts at 5 p.m., followed at 6:15 p.m. by presentations on rebuilding and recovery from Cordova and wellness podcaster Kim Marshall.