By Steve Bloom
Recently, CBRE held a grand opening event for their new office in the landmark Masonic Temple on Brand Blvd in Glendale. RENTV president Steve Bloom was on hand for the event that night, February 11th, where he was able to take in first hand the beautiful renovation of this majestic building, and also had the opportunity to catch up with many industry colleagues.
At the event were a couple hundred CBRE, Caruso Affiliated and Gensler folks and friends, who gathered around the stadium seating in the grand atrium space on the building’s top level. We caught the thank you's expressed by David Josker, CBRE's Managing Director | LA North, then we hit the shrimp and oysters and a little scotch.
To give you a little background, the property, now owned by Caruso Affiliated, is a nine-story structure at 234 S. Brand Blvd that was designed by Arthur Lindley and built in 1928. Lindley's firm, Lindley & Selkirk, also designed the Alex Theatre a few blocks north of the temple. The temple served as the home to several Masonic groups back in the day, but it then sat vacant for decades until 2011, except for occasional performances by a local theater company in the property’s basement.
Caruso bought the property in the spring of 2015 from Frank De Pietro and Sons, which also had ideas of rehabbing the property, but those plans were eventually scuttled. Caruso, led by Rick Caruso, is the well-regarded and prolific developer of the Grove in Los Angeles and the buzzing Americana at Brand, right across the street from the Masonic Temple, among other high-profile projects.
When announcing its purchase, Caruso stated its goal of revitalizing the property and renting it out to CBRE, led locally by Lew Horne, CBRE Prez of GLA/OC. CBRE had already signed a letter of intent to lease five floors.
The Historic Preservation Commission voted 3-0 to let Caruso perform the renovation, which maintained the front façade design. It did allow for some modifications, with one of the more controversial changes being the replacement of the irregular window patterns on the sides with larger windows in a more symmetrical, vertical pattern, despite concerns from local historians. The original windows were installed in their peculiar order to reflect Masonic uses, but the newer windows certainly let in more light, which makes for a greener building long term.
Included below are a few photos from the event. The first pic shows the crowd gathered in the "vaulted, cathedral-trussed penthouse" containing meeting space outfitted with stadium seating.
The second pic is of: David Josker, CBRE, Managing Director | LA North; Jackie Levy, EVP Operations, Caruso Affiliated; and Rick Caruso, Founder and CEO at Caruso Affiliated.
The third picture is of: Lindsay Malison, Gensler, Senior Associate Designer; Lewis Horne, CBRE, President | Greater Los Angeles Orange County; Carlos Posada, Gensler, Principal, Los Angeles Office (and the main man behind the renovation design!!); Elizabeth Wendell, Gensler, Architect; and Barbara Dunn, Gensler, Studio Director, Principal.
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