2 CIVIC LEADERS TO BE HONORED AT 2nd FORECAST AWARDS
Los Angeles Times | February, 2001
UCLA Extension and the Los Angeles Times announced that Wayne Ratkovich and James A. Thomas will be the recipients of the second annual UCLA Extension-Los Angeles Times Real Estate Forecast Awards.
Thomas and Ratkovich will be honored for their positive impact on and extraordinary contributions to commercial real estate in the Southern California region.
Ratkovich is the founder and president of The Ratkovich Company, and Thomas is chief executive officer of Thomas Properties Group. The awards will be presented at a luncheon during the UCLA Extension-Los Angeles Times Real Estate Forecast Feb. 15.
A leading forum for industry experts, the event will be held at the Beverly Hills Hotel and will unite industry leaders and other top professionals in exploring the future of real estate.
At the Forecast, the impact of California’s energy crisis on the real estate market and real estate development will be an important topic of discussion. Philip Angelides, California treasurer and keynote speaker, will provide an up-to-the-minute report on the view from Sacramento on this key issue. Industry leaders will offer their perspectives. They include Victor Coleman, president, Arden Realty; Jordan Kaplan, principal, Douglas Emmett Realty Advisors; Robert F. Maguire III, chief executive officer, Maguire Partners; Brett Munger, partner, Commonwealth Partners, LLC; and Martin Griffiths, partner, Arthur Andersen, will offer their perspective.
In addition, Forecast attendees will receive advance copies of The Grubb & Ellis Los Angeles Basin Real Estate Forecast and the Grubb & Ellis National Real Estate Forecast, with critical information for conducting business in 2001 and beyond.
The Forecast will feature panels on "Profit Opportunities from New Technologies: Pot of Gold or Lump of Coal?" Downtown Los Angeles: Redevelopment and Infill Development – Opportunities and Challenges," "Capital Markets: How Are They Driving Today’s Real Estate Financing Decisions?" and "Are the Glory Days Over or Are They Just Beginning?: Industry Leaders Speak."
The panels will be moderated, respectively, by Gregory G. Gotthardt, partner, Real Estate Advisory Service, Ernst & Young, LLP; Matt Wyman, partner, Cox, Castle & Nicholson, LLP; D. Scott Lee, vice president, Real Estate Bank Group, Bank of America; and Martin Griffiths, partner, Arthur Andersen.
William Kamer, senior vice president of Douglas Emmett and Co., is the conference chair.
To register for the Forecast, visit the Web site at www.uclaextension.org/2001forecast or call (310) 825-9971 r (818) 784-7006.
Wayne Ratkovich
Ratkovich is the founder of The Ratkovich Company, a Los Angeles-based development firm whose focus is on the urban environment.
Ratkovich’s work covers large-scale urban planning and entitlement endeavors; retail, office, entertainment and mixed-use projects; new developments; and reuse of existing buildings and historic landmarks. Since 1964, he has focused on urban infill and rehabilitation projects, including such notable ones as The Wiltern Theatre, The James Oviatt Building and the Fine Arts Building.
Currently, The Ratkovich Company is developing The Alhambra, a 45-acre, 20-building, 1-million-square-foot office campus in Alhambra.
In addition, The Ratkovich Villanueva Partnership, one of the firm’s affiliates, is managing the entitlement and disposition of the Terminal Annex property in downtown Los Angeles, a 500,000-square-foot historic building on 17 acres, for the United States Post Office. The first step in that process was implemented in July 2000 with the sale of the historic Terminal Annex Building to Infomart-USA.
On behalf of the Urban Land Institute, Ratkovich has chaired five panels formed to find solutions to difficult urban development challenges. They include a redevelopment plan successfully implemented for Navy Pier in Chicago; a post-Olympic plan for the Centennial Olympic Park area of downtown Atlanta; and a plan for the Southwest Neighborhood of Washington D.C.
Ratkovich is a recipient of the Medici Award from the L.A. Chamber of Commerce for his contribution to the arts in Los Angeles. In 1997, Ratkovich and his firm were the recipients of the Parkinson Award from the USC School of Architecture for contributions to the urban environment in Los Angeles.
Ratkovich is a trustee of the Urban Land Institute and is an emeritus trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In addition, he is a member of the UCLA Foundation and a member of the board of visitors of UCLA’s School of Arts and Architecture.
James A. Thomas
Thomas is chief executive officer of Thomas Properties Group (TPG), a fully diversified real estate company…. (section left out)
The release of the Grubb & Ellis Forecasts
A yearly high point of the UCLA Extension-Los Angeles Times Forecast is the release of the Grubb & Ellis Los Angeles Basin Real Estate Forecast and the Grubb & Ellis National Real Estate Forecast.
Considered the industry standards for predicting the shape of things to come, the Grubb & Ellis Forecasts focus on both important large trends and market specific details in key product types.
In addition to receiving the 2001 Forecasts, conference attendees will hear a team of real estate professionals, led by Robert Back, Grubb & Ellis’ national director of market research, deliver projections and tips for success in the ever-changing real estate marketplace. The team will also review the results of last year and discuss what lies ahead for the office, industrial, retail and investment markets.
Originally published in the Los Angeles Times, February 6, 2001.
