Principals

Two careers in one market

Between them, Russ and Greg bring nearly seventy years of operating experience in Bakersfield and Kern County — and both are licensed general building contractors.

Russell G. Johnson

Co-Founder & Partner · Land acquisition, entitlement, builder contracts, capital structuring

Russ has spent his career on both sides of the finished-lot transaction. At Centex Homes (1998–2007) he rose from customer service to Director of Land for Kern County — opening the Bakersfield office, contracting approximately 1,700 acres and procuring entitlements on approximately 4,078 lots.

Recruited in 2016 as the first hire of D.R. Horton’s new Central Valley division, he negotiated and contracted more than 1,200 finished-lot transactions over five years and helped establish Horton as the number-one builder in Kern County. The off-balance-sheet, phased-takedown structures he originated there became the template for Deertrail and JP Land.

In 2021 he formed Deertrail Development LLC, which has closed 813 finished lots to D.R. Horton since 2022. In October 2023 he co-founded JP Land Development with Greg Petrini, where he leads transaction structuring, builder contracts and capital.

Licensed General Building Contractor (CSLB)
Subdivision Map Act I & II — UC Davis Extension
Kern County homebuilding & land since 1998

russ@russjohnsoncompanies.com · (661) 213-6286

Gregory L. Petrini

Co-Founder & Partner · Construction management, entitlement processing, infrastructure delivery, field execution

Greg is a Bakersfield native and licensed general building contractor whose career spans every phase of real estate in Kern County — public works, production and semi-custom homebuilding, master-plan entitlement, industrial and commercial development, and institutional asset management. He has built more than 500 homes and 594 apartment units.

As development partner with Lehman Brothers’ real estate division, he led the acquisition and entitlement of the 2,450-acre Old River Ranch master-planned community in southwest Bakersfield — annexation, general plan amendment, zoning and tentative tract map — and developed the 80-acre Northgate industrial park. He then managed the Lehman assets through the bankruptcy wind-down, concluding with a $52 million asset sale in 2015.

At JP Land Development, Greg leads field execution across the portfolio — engaging directly with City and County officials, engineers, trades and lenders — beginning with Sterling Manor II and now the Heritage Square, Laurelwood II and 4B Farms programs.

CSLB General Building Contractor #1019071
President, Home Builders Association of Kern County
B.A., Cal State Long Beach
Kern County real estate since 1989

gpetrini33@gmail.com · (661) 201-6216

Civil engineering

McIntosh & Associates

Our long-standing site/civil partner in Bakersfield — civil design, subdivision infrastructure, and surveying for JP Land finished-lot programs. More about the partnership →

Talk with the principals

Landowners, homebuilders and capital partners — reach Russ or Greg directly.