Business Journal homes in on a dozen residential developers who, surprise, are building in the L.A. market.
Isaac Cohanzad, 62
President
Wiseman Development Co., West Los Angeles
Cohanzad has developed hundreds of units during his nearly four-decade career. The Brentwood resident is building two projects – a 63-unit project on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los Angeles and a 34-unit mixed-use project in Glendale.
Reason I’m a Residential Developer: My father built apartment buildings throughout my childhood. That cultivated a deep passion in me for creating new development projects. I’ve always loved working on residential floor plans and improving unit layouts. Every project is like a fun puzzle and I feel great satisfaction seeing the end product.
If I Weren’t a Residential Developer I’d Be: I can’t imagine doing anything else. But if I didn’t have the deep passion for building, I would focus on investment deals and less on construction.
Most Challenging Development: The 63-unit mixed-use project currently under construction on Santa Monica Boulevard. We had a hard time going through the entitlement process and utilizing the newly enacted Senate Bill No. 1818 (allowing for density bonuses) for projects with a low-income component. When we finally had all the approvals we approached the real estate meltdown in 2007 and suddenly construction financing was close to impossible to secure.
Best Career Moment: It’s ironic, but I experienced my best career moment during the last recession. It was 1994, during the depth of the real estate market crash. In those times, getting any type of financing was a huge accomplishment.
Worst: The worst career moment must have been the couple of years that led to the 1994 refinance. Holding on to what I had developed in the years prior definitely proved to be tough.
My Colleagues Don’t Know: I’m an expert Sudoku player.
Favorite Project I Didn’t Develop: I like the two new projects on Sawtelle Boulevard: Soho Square and St. John’s Wood. The developer (Darius Khakshouri) built those two projects with a clear vision. They brought smaller and more affordable units to a good part of town.
Best Thing About Developing in L.A. County: Considering L.A. is a major city, there’s always land available to be built on. In most largely populated cities, it’s hard to find the land deals. Also, the population diversity in L.A. allows you to be creative.
Worst: Dealing with the red tape in the planning and building departments.
Bucket List: Other than eventually passing the business on to my children, I’d like to continue traveling with my wife and learning how to play golf. In the future, I will free up some time and focus more on the community.
