LOS ANGELES – There are many reasons to do business in downtown Los Angeles. On January 9, national and international investors will have a unique opportunity to experience them first-hand and hear from the leading executives in the field.
Organized by the Los Angeles’ Downtown Center Business Improvement District [DCBID], ‘The Renaissance of Downtown Los Angeles: Opportunity Knocks’ is an all-day investors’ conference at the JW Marriot at L.A. Live which will feature breakfast, four panels, lunch, bus tours and incredible networking opportunities. This “must-attend” event will showcase downtown Los Angeles’ real estate markets with panels focused on sports and entertainment, office, retail, residential/mixed use and hospitality.
Tickets are $150 ($200 after Nov. 15) for the full day’s events including breakfast and lunch, and can be purchased at DowntownLA.com/opportunity.
The conference has already attracted a ‘who’s who’ of leaders throughout the business and real estate community, including:
Carol Schatz, President and CEO, Downtown Center Business Improvement District
Eli Broad, Founder, The Broad Foundations
Dan Beckerman, President and CEO, AEG
Bert Dezzutti, Senior Vice President, Brookfield Office Properties
William Witte, President, Related California
Wayne Ratkovich, President and CEO, The Ratkovich Company
Barry Altshuler, Senior Vice President, Equity Residential
Bruce Baltin, Senior Vice President, PKF Consulting USA
Martin Caverly, CEO, EVOQ Properties
Neils Cotter, Vice President, Development, Carmel Partners
John Gorham, Executive Vice President and Regional Director of Stores, Macy’s Southwest
Kenneth A. Himmel, President and CEO, Related Urban
Edward Hogan, Director of Retail Leasing, Brookfield Office Properties
Rob Jernigan, Managing Principal, Southwestern Region, Gensler
Christopher C. Martin, CEO, AC Martin Partners Inc., and CEO and President, Martin Project Management
Derrick Moore, Principal, Urban Retail Properties, Avison Young
Kathy Neal, Principal, Keller Williams DTLA
Marc D. Renard, Vice Chairman, Global Capital Markets Group, Cushman Wakefield
Nelson Rising, Chairman and CEO, Rising Realty Partners
Richard Stockton, President and CEO, OUE Limited – The Americas
Alison Cumberland, Senior Vice President, Lodging Development, Marriott International, Inc.
This event comes as the downtown Los Angeles community continues to transform into a vibrant place for people to live, work and play – an effort championed by the non-profit DCBID. According to a recent demographic survey commissioned by the DCBID to study consumer trends and purchasing power, downtowners have shown a dramatic spike in wealth and education over the past two years.
“We expect this upward momentum to continue, based on the strong interest we are seeing from investors and developers across all the market segments,” said Carol Schatz, President and CEO of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District. “The Downtown Renaissance is 15-years-old, but it’s still in its infancy with much, much more to come.”
The event will be geared towards a domestic and international audience of commercial and residential real estate developers, investors and brokers; as well as bankers, retailers, restaurateurs, nightlife operators, hoteliers and others who are interested in exploring investment opportunities available in downtown Los Angeles.
In recent years, American markets have been quite appealing to investors from emerging economies. “Since 1999, there has been almost $16 billion in real estate investment in downtown L.A. We know that there are many investors and others who still need to know about our story and how they can benefit from the opportunity to invest, develop or do business in the central city,” Schatz said.
Opportunity Knocks: The Renaissance of Downtown Los Angeles will begin at 7 a.m. and it will include breakfast and lunch. The event will conclude at 5:15 p.m.