Kit Marchel

President

Hertz Investment Group

Claim to Fame: Purchase of the Wiltern Theatre complex

Kit Marchel says being a woman in the male-dominated real estate field can be an advantage because it sets her apart from the crowd. But it’s more important to “always believe in yourself, no matter what your gender nothing takes the place of hard work and determination,” she says.

Marchel is president of a company known for snapping up historic, dilapidated and financially beleaguered L.A. properties and restoring them to their former glory.

The jewel in the company crown is the December 1998 purchase of the foreclosed Art Deco Wiltern Theatre at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue. The building sold for $19 million and includes the theater, office tower and attached retail space. The ground floor will include the Tuscany Grill, to be opened by the owners of Cicada.

Marchel credits her success to her own brand of careful negotiating. “It’s 80 percent listening. As long as you hear what they need you can come to terms, even though you can’t give them everything,” she says. “For example, on a project we just completed in San Francisco, we gave them manpower to help them move. I didn’t give them a deadline, and I helped them advertise their final closing sale event. My strategy is, it must be win-win for both parties.”

“She also has a great personality, people like dealing with her,” says her boss, Judah Hertz. “She’s very trustworthy her word is what matters.”

Henry Bryan, senior associate with George Smith Partners, has been on both sides of the negotiating table with Marchel and notes her strong understanding of real estate. “You can trust what she talks about. And when you’re against her, you know her position,” he says. “She’s fair, she knows where she can go and where she can’t go.”

Kit Marchel left business school to work in the entertainment field. But in 1986 she couldn’t pass up an invitation to oversee the renovation of Florida properties owned by Ron Wood, bass player for the Rolling Stones.

She says working with the rock star gave her a taste for real estate preservation while bringing Woods’ property into the black.

In 1990, Marchel started handling acquisitions and management for L.A.-based Hertz Investment Group, a pioneer in loft conversions in Manhattan’s SoHo district with holdings in Florida, Miami, Tennessee and New Orleans. Marchel spent her first five years flying from city to city, overseeing the properties.

“I had platinum flight miles with two airlines,” she recalls.

In April, the company acquired the 100,000-square-foot Standard Oil building at Olympic Boulevard and Hope Street for $4.5 million. The company also owns the Art Deco Oviatt building at 617 S. Olive, the Park Plaza Hotel near MacArthur Park, and Wilshire Square I, a 12-story, 142,565-square-foot office building purchased from Philippine National Bank in March.

This year Marchel and the Hertz Group have moved in a new direction with the purchase of 45 percent of the Sands Regency Hotel-Casino in Reno. The company will manage and operate its gaming interests through Sapphire Gaming LLC. The firm also purchased the 310-room Comstock Hotel in Reno for $5 million.

“Gaming is a departure for us,” Marchel says. “It’s exciting. My job is ever-evolving; no two days are the same.”

Jolie Gorchov