Tony Salazar is president of West Coast operations for McCormack Baron Salazar, a development firm that specializes in affordable and mixed income housing. Before he participated in a discussion about how transit effects housing costs, he talked about his favorite architect, Kansas City barbeque, and butterfly exhibits.
Do you have a favorite Los Angeles Metro line?
It’s got to be the Red Line. It goes through so many different areas.
What dessert do you find impossible to resist?
I find them all impossible to resist! My downfall is that I like desserts.
What’s one of the development projects you’re most proud of?
Pueblo del Sol. It’s mixed income, mixed use. It has a new school, it’s multi-generational, and it has a rail stop. I built a village!
Do you have a favorite sports team?
I like a lot of teams. I like the New England Patriots. I like the Kansas City Royals.
When was the last time you were on top of a mountain?
It’s probably been about six years. I was at Whistler, up in Canada.
What’s the best thing to do in Kansas City, where you used to live?
Barbeque. Eat. I’ve lived in Los Angeles now for almost 25 years, but all my family still lives there.
If you went to a zoo, which animal would you go to see first?
The exhibit that I like best now is the type that has butterflies. Those are really cool.
What’s your favorite season?
The fall, even in L.A. Fall everywhere is great.
Do you have a favorite neighborhood?
I like neighborhoods that George Kessler designed. He was a great architect who developed communities before there were cars. So a lot of his neighborhoods in cities like Chicago, Kansas City, Baltimore—they have nice gentle curves in the street, nice tree canopies, and a lot of fountains.
Who was your childhood hero?
Mickey Mantle. I used to go see him play any time he came to town.