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BUSINESS NEWS WARE MALCOMB ANNOUNCES CONSTRUCTION HAS STARTED ON NEWHIGH-RISE OFFICE BUILDING AT 2130 VIOLET STREET IN ARTS DISTRICT OF LOS ANGELES Ware Malcomb , an award- winning international design firm, announced that design is complete and construction has begun on a new high-rise creative office building located at 2130 Violet Street in the Arts District of Los Angeles. Ware Malcomb provided architectural design services for the project, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2021. LA-based national real estate investor, developer and manager Lowe is the developer of the project and the general contractor is Swinerton . The project totals more than 113,000 square feet in size and features a ground-up, nine- story creative office building situated along the Los Angeles River. Located in the LA Arts District, 2130 Violet Street includes 109,100
square feet of office space, 3,400 square feet of ground-floor retail opportunities, parking for 275 vehicles, and outdoor spaces including terraces and a 3,000-square-foot rooftop deck/lounge with stunning views of the city. The design of the building is heavily influenced by the Arts District’s industrial heritage and aesthetic as evidenced by the material selection of exposed concrete and steel detailing. Recessed terraces at the office floors provide indoor/outdoor connectivity while also creating depth to the overall massing. Operable windows provide additional access to fresh air. A roof deck with expansive views of the Downtown Los Angeles skyline will serve as building amenity. Ground floor retail fronting Violet Street protrudes from the office and parking tower with steel and glass to create a modern base. The retail will activate the street plane, becoming part of the urban fabric as an
amenity not only to the office users but also to the immediate community. “This is an exciting ground-up project in the vibrant and ever-evolving Arts District of Los Angeles,” said Radwan Madani, principal of Ware Malcomb’s LA office. “2130 Violet Street offers a unique combination of large creative office suites, ground floor retail opportunities, a variety of outdoor spaces, and the incredible amenities of the surrounding area.” Ware Malcomb has also completed several other projects in the LA Arts District, including: providing architecture and interior design services for 405 Mateo Street, an 83,285-square-foot creative office and retail project, and providing interior architecture and design services for the Soylent corporate headquarters located within the At Mateo campus.
MARK ZWEIG, from page 9
successful companies during this time are going up? Yes, I did! 7)Management is aggressively recruiting new people to diversify their capabilities. Now is the time to upgrade or get new talent to join your firm. People are unsettled and worried about their futures. Some – not all – will be more receptive to appeals from new employers that they think are more solid or doing better than the firms they work in today. You want to find those people and talk to them to see if they (and you) would be better off together than you are apart. This is a unique opportunity for staff upgrading, and the best firms get it. They aren’t waiting on the sidelines. 8)Management is increasing their marketing spending. I sound like a broken record here. But the reason is so many A/E firms are cutting their marketing spending now because their revenues are down, and while they may get you some short-term savings, it is the very worst thing you can do if you want to do well in the future. The most successful firms are spending more and doing more to promote themselves now, perfectly timed because most of their competitors are fearful and cutting back. 9)Management is NOT holding up on ownership transition plans. Again, the firms managed by fearful principals are putting their transition plans on hold because they want to hold on to their precious cash. I get it. But how motivational is that going to be for those newer partners or principals getting into ownership? They could be thinking, “This is a horrible place to invest my money in,” because “you’ll never get it back.” Not the way you want anyone to think – especially your best up-and-comers. Times like these are always interesting to me because they quickly sort out the firms into one of two categories. Those that are fearful and scared and pulling back – limiting their opportunities to do better and setting the stage for future decline (by far and away the larger group). And then those that see the world differently and see opportunities all around them. I don’t know about you, but I would rather be a part of the latter group! MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.
3)Management is optimistic. Some see opportunities in the current situation that weren’t there before. These opportunities exist to upgrade their office space more affordably, hire new people, and/or push into new market sectors they weren’t in previously, or buy other firms with financial/cash flow problems and/or owners who want to get out. These opportunities are all there and they are taking advantage of them. “Times like these are always interesting to me because they quickly sort out the firms into one of two categories. Those that are fearful and scared and pulling back ... And then those that see the world differently and see opportunities all around them.” 4)Management has greatly increased their communication with their employees. More calls, texts, emails, Zoom meetings – also more information in their open-book management reports. And as I already stated, they are doing more sharing and making more references to the firm’s business plan. This communication is not borne from a lack of trust for the people, either. It is because management knows people are isolated and fearful, and they want to alleviate as much of that thinking as they can. 5)Management is in close contact with the firm’s clients. This is SO important!! What are the clients thinking now? What are they going through? What are their plans? What help do they need? How are they doing as individuals? Firms doing well today are NOT taking their clients for granted and assuming they know everything about what their clients are going through, or what those clients are doing to address their problems. 6)Management is investing in their existing people. That means training, training, and more training in all aspects of the business, project management, communications and social awareness skills, and technical and business software use. Did I say that training investments for the most
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THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 5, 2020, ISSUE 1362
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