Office tenant

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Office Tenant Broker

Winner

Brian Ulf

Cushman Realty Corp.

Runners Up

Mark Sullivan

Julien J. Studley Inc.

Gerald Porter/Matthew Miller

Metrospace/Cresa

In the past, he waited tables at the Warehouse Restaurant in Marina del Rey and sold beer to Dodger Stadium as a rep for Budweiser.

Now Brian Ulf is a top commercial real estate broker, but one thing hasn’t changed.

“I love the hunt and challenge of making a deal,” says Ulf, a 10-year-employee of Cushman Realty Corp. in downtown L.A. “TrizecHahn calls me a ‘pit bull negotiator,’ because I go to bat for my clients. Much of it is that we represent good clients and good people. It just makes the job that much more rewarding.”

The 41-year-old Ulf finished 1998 as L.A.’s top-producing tenant broker with some $80 million in deals to his credit. His portfolio includes Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall, Ernst & Young LLP and Tokio Marine.

“Brian does more than scratch the surface of a deal. He digs and finds non-apparent opportunities that are fair to both sides,” said Jim Freer, area managing partner of Ernst & Young.

Last year, Ulf represented the accounting firm in transactions involving 400,000 square feet of space in Woodland Hills, El Segundo, Orange County and downtown Los Angeles. One of Ulf’s trickiest transactions involved Ernst & Young’s move to 725. S. Figueroa St., the former headquarters of Citicorp Plaza. The company signed a 15-year lease for 145,000 square feet.

“It was rough, because there was a sublease with Citibank that I had to negotiate, then I had to work with the CRA for building-top signage, and then the owner of the building, TrizecHahn, to put the name on the building. Those were late nights,” he says.

Ulf, a USC graduate, remains bullish on 1999, especially for downtown L.A. He has signed letters of intent from DMJM for 130,000 square feet, Tokio Marine for 60,000 square feet and U.S. Trust for 25,000 square feet to build a presence in the region.

“To be a world city, you gotta’ keep the lights on at night. With the upcoming Staples Center, Los Angeles will be able to stay awake,” Ulf says.

Nola L. Sarkisian

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