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Mika Co.

Real Estate Development

Downtown Los Angeles

Peer through the vertical glass in the door of the Mika Co. office and you’ll see the ruby red lips that frame the blue skies and marshmallow clouds of a Dali-esque painting in the lobby.

“It’s an atmosphere that facilitates creativity,” said Scott Schwartz, principal of Mika, a real estate development firm. “We’re always trying to think of different ways of doing things and this is another example of it. This isn’t your typical office.”

Schwartz said sparking creative thinking by employees is important in a competitive field like development, where fresh ideas can make or break major deals.

The firm is located in the Mika Building on Traction Avenue, which also houses 35 artist lofts. The 80,000-square foot building was constructed in the 1940s as industrial space and purchased in 1984 by Mika, which renovated the structure to add bathrooms, kitchens and new lighting.

Visitors are buzzed into the building via an intercom system and enter a simple lobby graced with two ceiling-high concrete pillars. The elevator is painted purple and each floor sports a different color motif. Diamond-shaped signs on the hallway walls display suite numbers.

In the fourth-floor Mika offices, the lobby features a red banquette. On the wall is a stark, seven-foot-high Peter Lodato painting of the corner of a bright red room. Employee cubicles are made of drywall and covered with “zolatone” paint, giving them a speckled, industrial finish.

Schwartz said such touches have boosted morale as well as creativity. “We don’t have quite as many sick days as we used to at our old offices on Broadway,” he said. “It’s quite noticeable.”

Nola L. Sarkisian

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