A Q&A with Compass Commercial’s Tim Byrne and Dario Svidler
Compass Commercial’s SoCal EVPs Tim Byrne and Dario Svidler sat down to share a bottle of Cab from Tim’s friends at Vista Serrano Vineyards in Paso Robles and reflect on 2018, look ahead to 2019, and contemplate the future of Commercial real estate in Los Angeles.
TB: Cheers, my friend! 2018 was a fantastic year. We brought our clients a number of smart, sound investment opportunities, and I’m looking forward to hearing about their future success. So what’s your take on L.A.’s commercial real estate market right now, and what are the areas of opportunity?
DS: L.A.’s commercial real estate market is really moving right now, and I anticipate this will continue for the foreseeable future. The hottest commercial development areas are Atwater Village, the Frogtown arts district, Highland Park, Chinatown, Boyle Heights, Silicon Beach, which recently welcomed Snapchat, and Playa Vista, where Google recently landed. And what about you and your team working in the retail arena?
TB: Well, the ‘retail apocalypse’ is certainly a myth. More stores are opening in Los Angeles than are closing. The retail landscape is certainly evolving though. To compete in today’s marketplace and against the Amazon Effect, retailers are investing in their people, technology and the ambience of their stores. Customers have to enjoy the shopping experience at retail. Even Amazon sees the value of that experience and is opening brick and mortar stores! What’s your 2019 outlook in development and multi-family?
DS: My focus as always is my clients. With the advent of Compass and its remarkable technology and innovation – even social media is coming into play to introduce commercial real estate to a broader consumer audience — we have a unique opportunity to leverage our company’s residential network more than ever to service our commercial clients. My team works with private and institutional clients and developers who are looking for new ground-up construction opportunities for apartments, mixed-use and hospitalityrelated uses. We look for investors seeking advice on how to increase their property value in this quickly evolving market. With the influx of Silicon Valley tech companies and the ever-expanding entertainment industry seeking new commercial space, we can advise on how to monetize these new opportunities. We also specialize in 1031 transactions, helping investors looking to complete the up-leg of their transaction for stabilized, tax-deferred investment properties. How do you see Compass Commercial evolving in 2019?
TB: We’ll continue to focus on investment sales and leasing, with an emphasis in commercial land development and apartment and commercial sales. We’ll continue to focus more on the big picture than a single transaction and will continue to provide a property or portfolio analysis that focuses on increasing cashflow and value appreciation. Then we can advise on ways to enhance the value of the assets and provide other investment opportunities.
DS: Word. Compass’ vast resources will allow us to further serve our clients, and the larger L.A. community, by leveraging the company’s vast residential network to bring our clients largest investments – their homes and their commercial assets – under one roof supported by the strong pillars of teamwork, trust and integrity. Bring on 2019!
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