In an era dominated by real estate investment trusts and powerful institutional investors, some old-school independent real estate developers have found sanctuary in the offbeat, the risky and the complicated.
Projects that would scare off most corporate real estate types are catnip to Ezralow Co., a fourth-generation family business that has quietly grown to become one of the largest niche players in Southern California.
The Calabasas company is in the midst of such nervy projects as building housing on a former NASA complex in Downey, constructing a retail center on a once-polluted Superfund site in Monterey Park and demolishing and rebuilding an aging mall in Huntington Beach. The three developments are valued at more than $500 million.
That's on top of more prosaic pursuits that include buying and renovating 3,000 apartment units each year, accumulating a portfolio of mini-warehouse properties and working to build a 550-home subdivision off the Antelope Valley Freeway in Santa Clarita.
Gradually taking the helm is Chief Executive Bryan Ezralow, the 34-year-old son of former CEO Marshall Ezralow, 63, who has assumed a chairman-like role. The senior Ezralow built thousands of apartment units during his long career, and Bryan is building on that legacy.
"Bryan is taking the Ezralow operation to a new level in how he approaches managing the assets that came through his father's dynasty," said Harvey Green, Encino-based president of brokerage Marcus & Millichap.
While pursuing these inherently risky ventures, Bryan Ezralow is applying lessons the family patriarchs have passed down--frequently outmaneuvering bigger and better-known developers along the way. One key strategy entails finding bargain properties and figuring out ways to improve them.
"We prosper when we can add value with a creative plan and a well-organized execution," Bryan Ezralow said.
The younger Ezralow has already been in the business long enough to know what it's like to be bloodied. Memories of the early-1990s recession that flattened the real estate business are strong.
"I always try to remind myself how ugly it was and try to avoid taking on too much while always keeping a downside strategy in mind" for each new venture, Ezralow said. "We always try to determine how far a property's value could fall in another recession, and what alternatives we have."
