Executive vice president
LPC West
The Company: LPC West is part of Lincoln Property Co.
Current Project: Converting 465 N. Halstead St. in Pasadena to a life sciences property
Portfolio: 35 million square feet on the West Coast and 15 million square feet in L.A.
Led locally by Executive Vice President Rob Kane, the company owns and manages 15 million square feet in L.A. County. It counts Entrada in Culver City, Desmond in downtown, and 8777 Washington Blvd. in Culver City among its assets.
What sets LPC West apart from other developers in the area?
Our expertise lies in a fundamental understanding of the Los Angeles market. It’s such a dynamic market that is constantly evolving, and we have such a great knowledge of the underlying market dynamics and the ability to move nimbly, and those qualities separate us from our peers.
How big a player are entertainment and media companies in your portfolio?
L.A. has been evolving dramatically over the last five or six years with this evolving mix of major entertainment, media and technology companies moving into L.A. or growing in L.A., and it has really changed the L.A. landscape. Our investment thesis has been, “Let’s invest in places in L.A. with a supply-demand imbalance and that are attractive to media and entertainment companies.” … We’ve been lucky enough to be involved in a number of projects that have catered to these companies.
You recently announced plans for a life sciences conversion for a property in Pasadena. Why is life sciences something you are interested in?
We see life sciences as a growing industry within Los Angeles. It’s been slower to evolve in L.A. than other locations, but we … believe L.A. will be a major player. We are fortunate enough to work with Xencor on their lease (at LPC West’s property in Pasadena) … and think it will (grow the life sciences market locally) and will help L.A.
What adjustments have you had to make to your spaces during the Covid-19 pandemic?
We’ve really focused on campus projects that have great access to natural light and open air and are lower-profile, lower-rise projects. We’ve also, through our LPC Ventures, have been able to invest directly into companies that are changing the prop-tech landscape with respect to a post-Covid environment and deploying those technologies into our projects.
From a strategy standpoint, Covid has been a big catalyst for additional content production. We’ve been working over the last two years to also build a studio and soundstage production strategy. … Coming out of Covid, like life sciences, soundstage and original content production in L.A. is going to be a huge driver.
We acquired two campuses in the Valley totaling 11 soundstages; that’s our first acquisition (of soundstages in L.A.). We own a number of other properties … and are continuing to grow our operating platform.
What have rent collections been like?
We’ve been fortunate in that rent collection for us has been strong. We’re back to higher rent collections than before Covid started. Our projects and properties have stayed healthy from a rent collection standpoint.
What is the future for the company in L.A.?
We want to continue to deliver great product into the markets that we want to continue to invest in where we see continued growth from media, entertainment and technology companies. … I would include life sciences and soundstage and studio production. We want to continue to grow on and build on those industries and those strategies.
— Hannah Madans
