Dan Freeman ’90

Dan Freeman lives in Pleasant Hill with his wife Jill and three children, Olivia (CHS class of 2022), who attends Chapman University, Ava (CHS Class of 2024), who attends the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Emmet (DLS Class of 2028), who is currently a sophomore at DLS.  

Dan has been immersed in the real estate development industry for almost 30 years, and his office is currently in Downtown Lafayette. His company, Lenox Homes, builds infill communities and homes throughout the Bay Area and in North Carolina. 

In addition to travelling for leisure and for real estate, Dan enjoys visiting my daughters at college, being outdoors with his two black labs, and attending a lot of baseball games in the sunshine. 

LIFE AFTER DE LA SALLE

Where did you go to college?
After graduating from De La Salle, I attended UC Irvine, where I met my wife, Jill, at the age of 20. We were married at 25, bought our first home in the San Fernando Valley, and started a family. At Irvine, when I was 19, unbeknownst to me, my fraternity brothers registered me for the United States College Comedy Competition, and I made it to the Finals.  That was the beginning of my acting and writing career.  I eventually pursued a 7-year career in show business in Los Angeles. I worked with UCLA Film School and produced a TV show for MTV.

Where do you currently work?
Simultaneously with the start of my acting and writing career, I was really drawn to real estate. When I was 25, I obtained my real estate license and started a parallel career in Real Estate. In my early 30s, I focused solely on real estate development, and I eventually became the Owner and President of Lenox Homes, a local Homebuilding and Real Estate Development Company. I spend most of my days touring properties and coordinating the entitlements, construction, and sales with my development team.

What do you most enjoy about your work?
I was really drawn to the  Real Estate Development industry because it had a very familiar blueprint to what I had learned growing up in a large sports-oriented family, which carried through at DLS. Primarily, a good Real Estate Development Team and Project requires teamwork.

 At DLS, from day 1, students are encouraged and motivated to be a productive member of a team, whether it's inside the classroom, at social events, or on the field.  Being the youngest of 5 children who all attended DLS or CHS starting in 1979, I first stepped foot on the DLS Campus when I was 9 years old. The DLS atmosphere has a way of becoming part of your DNA. And it never leaves you.  Overcoming obstacles, fighting for success shoulder to shoulder with your teammates and classmates, and pushing yourself further than you thought you could are gifts that DLS gives you, and they last throughout your life. Building a real estate development team and the projects themselves provided me with the opportunity to use those skills that DLS ingrained in me. I think that is why I was so attracted to it.  It felt very familiar, and I felt I could make a difference.

What is one thing you are most proud of?
I am certainly most proud of my family. They are all forging their own paths and taking the journey head-on in their own individual way. It’s a lot of fun for Jill and me to watch our kids take on life and become adults. Career-wise, I think creating a team and family culture within our company is fulfilling, and creating communities that provide much-needed housing and quality neighborhoods where families can raise their children is probably the achievement I am most proud of. "

 

THE DE LA SALLE EXPERIENCE
If you could have dinner with any DLS teacher or administrator (past or present), who would it be and why?
Charlie Nolan. Charlie was my world religions teacher and an adversary on the golf course.  He inspired us to think outside the box, he had a classic sense of humor, and you could cover any topic...Also, as a bonus, I would ask that Terry Eidson be allowed to join as well, so I could watch the two of them debate their golf strategy for the next match against me and my brother, Rick! Charlie was a great man.

What is your fondest memory while at De La Salle?
Definitely friendships made on the Baseball field. There's a large group of us that are great friends and who get together frequently to this day.

What do you know now that you wish you had known during your time at De La Salle?
Savor every moment of DLS. Even the ups and downs. Those memories and friendships will last your lifetime.

What was something you absolutely loved being a part of at De La Salle?
Creating the Original 12th Man...The Scrappers!

How would your fellow Spartans have described you when you attended De La Salle?
Probably, that I liked to have fun and I enjoy a good joke!

What was one life lesson that De La Salle taught you?
Hard work and gratitude in the present moment are what a fulfilling life is all about. It is about today. Don't get caught up in yesterday or tomorrow.

 

JUST FOR FUN

If you had one year and unlimited funds, what would you do?
For fun... I would get a Sprinter van and plot a course across the country with my brother and a few friends, hitting up every major college sporting event across the country, playing a little golf along the way, and of course having our families meet up with us to join the journey along the way!

What's on your bucket list and why?
Visit Ireland, where my grandfather was from, and Sweden, where Jill's family is from. We have not been there yet.

If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
Blow the Whistle by Too Short. It's a great song that gets you fired up. And it embarrasses my kids that I like it, which is always a bonus!