Development for Underserved Communities

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It makes me happy waking up every day knowing that I won’t be doing the same thing at work I did yesterday. Usually I get up between 6 and 6:30 a.m. but it depends. Two days a week I leave earlier to go to physical therapy for a back injury.


My morning is comprised of getting my two kids dressed and ready for the day. Once a week I take my son to kindergarten to stay in touch with him and what’s going on at school. We live in Encino, his school is in Northridge and I work downtown. It is a beautiful commute on the freeway.


Work starts as soon as I jump in the car. Forest City is headquartered in Cleveland, so I am on the phone with that office discussing financial issues, loans, potential tenants, due diligence, any number of issues that need to be worked out.


Forest City Development on the West Coast has a residential and commercial division. The commercial group includes leasing and development departments. I was hired by Forest City about three years ago to work on the Hispanic Retail Group, an alliance to develop retail centers in Hispanic communities.


The name of my position changed recently. The difference is in the growth and evolution of the project. We’ve hired new people who take care of day-to-day duties and report to me so I can undertake larger projects.


As we’ve grown, we have created a pipeline of new projects. Usually Forest City Commercial group is doing million-square-foot projects but the Hispanic Retail Group started out with 175,000-square-foot projects. Now, our biggest project is one in Fresno with 650,000 square feet of retail and 600 residential units.


The first thing I do when I come in the office is go through the local newspapers and a national newspaper that will give me some international news. I check my voicemail and email, go through my to-do list, and check with other people in the office to make sure they know the next step of their role in their project.


That takes up my morning. Between 12 and 1, I have lunch.


Finding a way to eat at work is challenging. Some things my wife makes are not meant to be put in the microwave and we don’t have an oven at the office.


My afternoon schedule varies. I try to have a few meetings throughout the week to stay in touch with the industry.


I spend about half of my time meeting with cities, tenants, and financial institutions on how we understand real estate opportunities and how we can carry through with them.


The Hispanic Retail Group is like a company within a company. I oversee everything from executing and bringing a project up the pipeline, to acquisitions, to leasing efforts. Overall, I finalize the projects. I analyze financial reports and accounting statements. I make a lot of phone calls for scheduling and meet with architects.


Before I leave the office, I try to organize myself for the next day so I can start right away. I leave by 6:30 or 7:30. An hour commute allows me to unwind.


I try to get home as much as I can before my kids go to bed. My family is very important to me. Forest City appreciates family. Once a week I try to go out with my wife and do something with her alone. I usually watch TV to catch up with the news and go to bed by 10:30 or 11.





As told to Sarah Filus


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Andres Friedman



Vice President

Forest City Commercial Development West Coast Divison



Lunch:

‘My wife will make something and I eat at my desk. We are both from Mexico so she’ll make me anything from enchiladas to fajitas, or because we are Jews as well, she might make me matzo ball soup.’


Getting Home:

Drives from downtown to Encino. ‘An hour commute allows me to unwind.’

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