Banc Of California CEO Talks CRE
Conditions are starting to change in the banking industry, according to Banc of California CEO Steve Sugarman.
While banks have re-entered the commercial real estate market and been very aggressive with it for some period of time, especially multifamily, balance sheets have hit concentration limits, Steve said when he spoke at last week's Bisnow Future of SoCal event at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in DTLA.
"They’ve kind of maxed out," and regulators are starting to take notice, he said.
Steve also talked about the partnership the Banc of California has formed with the LA Football Club. The bank is the naming partner to the new 22,000-seat soccer stadium the club is building at the Exposition Center.
It is being billed as the first open-air stadium to be built in LA since the construction of Dodger Stadium more than 50 years ago.
Around $300M of private equity capital is being funneled into the project.
Steve also spoke about the revitalization that is taking place in other parts of DTLA, including USC's City Center, the expansion of the Metro Line and investments in local museums.
LA County Economic Development Corp president and CEO Bill Allen (above left pictured with Inglewood Mayor James Butts) said across town the South Bay is greatly benefiting from the aerospace industry.
Bill said one-quarter of the space-related jobs in the US are in LA County.
SpaceX, headquartered in Hawthorne, is "exploding," he said.
El Segundo Mayor Suzanne Fuentes said her city, which is celebrating its centennial next year, is in an enviable position because businesses are doing so well there the city is "running out of space."
She described El Segundo as the aerospace capital of the nation.
When it comes to future development in SoCal, Crescent Heights SVP Adam Tartakovsky, LA Federation of Labor executive secretary-treasurer Rusty Hicks, Liner Law partner Jerry Neuman and Westfield CEO Bill Hecht discussed the moratorium and the impact of anti-development measures on SoCal.
Jerry moderated the panel at last week's event.
Bill said he thinks what's important is "there needs to be a balance in all this."
Adam said his firm focuses on "crafting each project to the community we're building."
The goal is to increase the amount of affordable housing for residents who need it the most, Rusty said.
