DEVELOPER Lawrence N. Field

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New York transplant Larry Field had no idea how prescient he was when he began buying industrial properties in the 1960s on the beachfronts of Santa Monica and Venice: “It all looked pretty inexpensive by New York standards.” Today, those buildings are the core of a 2.5 million-square-foot portfolio with tenants that include Google Inc. and Oracle Corp. He’s building an El Segundo creative campus, already a quarter-leased to Time Warner Cable.

How did you start in the business?

After graduating from Baruch College in New York City, and a stint as the country’s top salesman of Dove soap, I started a real estate property sales and management company with a friend. In the mid-’60s, I moved my family to Los Angeles and gradually tried to buy whatever commercial property I could.

When did you begin leasing to tech tenants?

I see “tech” as an umbrella term for the many tenants who are at the intersection of media, entertainment and technology. Probably my first foray into that world was in the late 1980s when I leased an old Nabisco factory to Jay Chiat (of Chiat/Day).

What makes them attractive tenants?

As an owner and landlord, it’s a lot of fun to get to know the people who lead those companies and help them create the high-performance working environments they want.

Are they challenging tenants?

Smaller creative office tenants tend to have a shorter lead time to occupancy, so the product has to be ready to go or they have to at least be able to see substantially what they will be able to get.

How do you make your buildings attractive?

Typically, we are working with an older building in a previously industrial neighborhood which is ready to be transformed. It really helps if the area is mature and has great amenities nearby. We then aim to create big, beautiful spaces, with plenty of natural light, which are flexible enough to be divided into smaller units. We also make sure we have (ample) parking.

Most unusual request from a tech tenant?

In the 1980s, a tenant in Venice insisted on adding a clause to the lease that said his employees could bring in pets of any kind, including orangutans, snakes and small crocodiles. I asked him how big a crocodile could be and still be considered small. He said: “Five feet.”


Biggest leasing success?

Our lease with Google in Venice is probably the best known of our successes.

What other industries do you court?

We tend not to court particular industries. Increasingly, we’re seeing larger, more traditional companies – in fields such as health care, pharmaceuticals or education – want that same kind of workspace.


What other industries do you see growing?

Health care, and everything related to it.

My colleagues don’t know this about me …

I’ve worked with many of my colleagues for more than 30 years. There’s almost nothing they don’t know about me.

– Jacquelyn Ryan

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