For the North Los Angeles team of industrial brokers at Beitler Commercial Realty Services, an office relocation includes plenty of perks.Led by Managing Director Ron Kassan, the real estate agents settled into their swank new offices in April at 16300 Ventura Blvd.
Company founder Barry Beitler built the mixed-use commercial development, which consists of 49 residential apartments, one large retail pad occupied by First Republic Bank and Beitler’s new San Fernando Valley office.The new 6,000-square-foot Beitler headquarters was customized from the ground up. The creative office interior features exposed bricks, hardwood floors and a towering cartoony mural tribute to Los Angeles that scales from the lobby up the stairs to the second level.It doesn’t really feel like the home for brokers who specialize in transacting warehouses.The avuncular and gregarious Kassan started at Beitler as a runner in 1989. He could have left Beitler for another brokerage years ago, but that would run counter to his ethos.“I spent a lot of time in Japan,” Kassan said, “studying the Japanese ways. Most employees stay with the same employer their whole lifetime.”Mentored by Kassan, Beitler Vice President Arthur Minassian has been with Beitler for six years and operates more like Kassan’s peer than a subordinate.“For many years, I was responsible for our mentorship program,” Kassan said. Of the 35 people Kassan mentored, “Art is number one,” he noted.Currently, Kassan and Minassian have more than $35 million in escrow and multiple large lease transactions in the works.
Since the beginning of March, Kassan, Minassian and their team have closed $50 million in transactions. Kassan and Minassian closed large, 20,000-square-foot leases in communities such as Chatsworth, Canoga Park and Van Nuys, including a 27,000-square-foot lease signed by a roofing company for $1 million at 7735 Kester in Van Nuys; and the new home base for nonprofit Hope of the Valley, serving the homeless at 16641 Roscoe Place, that represents an expansion three times larger than its previous headquarters.Decorated for successKassan and Minassian designed the creative office build out “to provide for an enjoyable work environment for the growing company,” Kassan said.The Beitler team has taken to their new Encino digs like ducks to water – in fact, a painting in Minassian’s office depicts cartoon characters Richie Rich, Uncle Scrooge and the “Monopoly” man, in a parody of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album cover, carrying money bags. The image is one of a trio of Alex Millionaire images featuring the mustachioed board game mascot, whom Minassian said symbolizes the success that he wants to achieve at Beitler.The second level of the Beitler spread offers individualized transparent offices and contemporary décor in an almost WeWork-style creative space. On an upper landing just outside the offices, a calming jacuzzi overlooks bustling Ventura Boulevard. There is also a lounge and recreation area with barbecue grill, communal dining tables and ping pong table to entertain both staff and clients. An adjacent gym allows Beitler employees to get fit in between business lunches at favorite local spots such as Emilio’s Trattoria next door.The amenities share a dual purpose as they are shared with other residents in the complex. Kassan added that it’s mostly Beitler staff, rather than clients, who utilize these amenities.Designing such a work environment is conducive to doing good business, according to the agents.“Everyone wants to work in a fun environment,” Kassan said. “We are 100 percent focused on work when work is the priority. However, after hours and for special events, we have a lot of fun over here.”Kassan noted that, in this pandemic year, the outdoor spaces took on an additional urgency.“The patio area has served as a huge benefit during COVID as we can literally set up shop outside,” he said.
Ultimately, Kassan applied lessons from his years spent in Japan to create a work layout that is tempered by social and recreational areas.“We’re not interested in being the richest guys in the cemetery,” Kassan said. “We strive for balance.”