Kohl

0

Allen Kohl

Regent Properties Inc.

Age: 62

Specialty: Retail Development

Recent Deal: Developing the $50 million Glendale Marketplace.

Allen Kohl had it pretty good in Milwaukee. He and his father and two brothers owned and operated a chain of supermarkets and department stores that bore the family name.

But Kohl grew tired of the long, cold winters so when someone made an attractive offer to buy out the family chains, the Kohls cashed out. In 1988, Allen took his proceeds and headed for the sunny climes of Los Angeles, where he founded Regent Properties Inc.

The company, which Kohl runs with partners Doug Brown and Jeff Dinkin, has developed or is in the process of developing a total of about 1 million square feet of commercial space in the Los Angeles area.

Most of that space is made up of three projects: Glendale Marketplace, now under construction; West Hills Corporate Village, still in the planning stages; and Hollywood Marketplace, which is slated to break ground in 1998.

L.A. Assistant Deputy Mayor Rocky Delgadillo, who has worked with Regent under a public-private partnership developing the 170,000-square-foot West Hills Corporate Village center, regards Kohl as an “enlightened developer.”

“Their willingness to work in a public-private partnership and develop a project that will mean a return of jobs is admirable,” Delgadillo said. “Allen Kohl is an accomplished businessman and has a concern for societal issues and not just the bottom line, which is a trait of the most successful businessmen.”

Since its inception, Regent has focused on developing retail projects, including projects it calls “downtown urban entertainment centers.”

Though officially in suburbia, Kohl counts the Glendale Marketplace as fitting that description. The two-story complex, to be built near the Glendale Galleria, is another public-private partnership. Its 160,000 square feet of space is to be anchored by WOW! (a store that combines Good Guys consumer electronics and Tower Records music software), a Mann Theatres cineplex and Gap Old Navy.

Wade Daniels

No posts to display