Valley Forum: Know a Good Place for Lunch? Since the beginning of the year a number of companies have moved from both elsewhere in the Valley and elsewhere in Los Angeles to the vicinity of the newly renovated Sherman Oaks Galleria. Many have said they, their employees and their clients prefer to be near the restaurants and shops that have also moved into the Galleria. So, the San Fernando Valley Business Journal asks, when it comes to picking a location for an office, how important is it to have the kinds of amenities you can take advantage of at lunch or after work nearby? Jacques Soriano Senior Account Executive Adwest Mailers Inc. Sylmar Since where I work in Sylmar there are very few, if any, restaurants to frequent, I would be very happy and excited to be in a complex like the Galleria, which has numerous restaurants in it, or very close by. Steve Wold President S & W Communications Van Nuys I just bought an office building in Van Nuys to which we are moving Sept 1. The proximity to food and entertainment establishments is important for the large picture of making employees happy enough to want to stay a while. Our new office will be near The Plant and provide all those good things. In our business, the most critical aspect of location is to be centrally located and near a freeway. Donald Hayes Owner’s Representative Realty Bancorp. Woodland Hills This is primarily why areas like Warner Center with several restaurants, theatres, shopping, health clubs, etc. traditionally have higher rents and occupancy. The Trillium on Canoga Avenue did this “self-contained” concept, with no theatres but a full service health and tennis club, car wash/detail, dry cleaners, hotel and restaurants, in the early ’90s. Its traditional occupancy is way over 95 percent. The Sherman Oaks Galleria is new state-of-the-art construction, well designed, well-managed and, just as important, very well-located at the nexus of the 405 and 101 with on and off ramps in every direction. Don’t forget that the Galleria is a “redo” of an older office/shopping center that once comprised over 150 percent of what is there now. Remember the first three rules of real estate: location, location, location! Ian B. Thomas Partner Thomas Consulting Group Sherman Oaks I could see how amenities are very important for many companies seeking office space or looking to move, but for me that’s not the only reason. In today’s age of spending endless hours in rush hour traffic daily and having worked for 10 years in downtown L.A. my partner and I made a conscious decision to forego prime office space in the L.A. basin to locate our office closer to where we reside (Studio City and Valley Village, respectively). Now that we spend less time on the Hollywood Freeway, we can spend more quality time with our families. Of course, it did help when our broker mentioned the new Starbucks being built across the street from our office. Robert B. Lamishaw President JPL Zoning Services Inc. Van Nuys Amenities and availability of residential uses are important elements in selecting an office location. However, in our particular business, proximity to the City Planning Department is of key importance. We get a lot of walk-in business after people are completely confused and frustrated by what City Planning and/or Building and Safety tell them.
