Ardwin Freight purchased a parcel of land that once housed a piece of Burbank’s aviation history, according to Lee & Associates. Ardwin plans to build a corporate headquarters and storage facility for its business on the 110,000-square-foot site.

Brett Warner, principal at Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, represented the seller of the industrial property, which is located at 2940 N. Hollywood Way in Burbank. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“What sold the property is the fact that land parcels in Burbank are rarely available, and this one is on a primary boulevard with high visibility adjacent to the Bob Hope Airport,” said Warner in a press release. “But it’s also nice to know that this historic parcel will once again be productive for the city and community.”

The site had been home to Pacific AirMotive Corp. (PAC) during the early days of flight when iconic companies such as Lockheed Aircraft, Menasco Motors and Flying Tigers Airline were clustered in Burbank. After emerging in the 1920s, Pacific AirMotive became the first FAA authorized turbine overhaul facility, according to Lee & Associates. It’s believed that the jet maintenance company even overhauled one of Amelia Earhart’s planes.

PAC closed in the mid-1990s, and the building was torn down a few years ago. The seller of the property acquired it with plans to build its corporate headquarters on the site. But the company’s growth outpaced those plans and the land proved too small for its needs.

Ardwin Freight, a transportation and freight company, will relocate its corporate offices to the front of the parcel and utilize the rear of the parcel for storage.

Gangi’s New Plan

There are a slew of distressed residential condominium projects being held by banks in the Southland, according to Gangi Development Co. of Burbank, and those condos can be readily re-positioned to enrich communities and provide affordable housing.

Gangi said it is actively seeking these types of projects, with the financial backing of an opportunity fund.

“Banks are holding onto reams of failed or incomplete properties that companies with construction/development expertise like ours can readily complete and re-sell or rent at discounted rates,” said Frank Gangi, president of Gangi Development Company.

The company is well positioned in the marketplace to pursue distressed property opportunities, he said. These projects often come with challenges that the company is equipped to handle because it has expertise in design, real estate law, entitlement and permit services, development services, construction, marketing and brokerages and sales, all in house.

Gangi Development Co. has been involved in multiple housing, condominium conversions, opportunity funds and redevelopment areas since its founding in the late 1940s. It has a track record in creating affordable housing, notably in mixed use settings. Recently, the company completed sales of “Vermont Avenue Lofts”, a 28-unit mixed use project in Glendora. Earlier, its “media Village” mixed use project in downtown Burbank featured 146 units of affordable senior housing.

Retail Reality

Employers are expected to slowly add to Los Angeles County payrolls in 2010, following two years of deep reductions, according to the 2010 National Retail Report by Marcus & Millichap.

While the modest job growth will have a stabilizing effect on the local economy, retail space demand will likely remain soft as an unemployment rate in the high 12 percent range tempers consumer spending.

Following are some of the most significant aspects of the company’s Los Angeles Retail Research Report:

Following the loss of more than 100,000 workers in each of the past two years, employers are expected to add 13,000 jobs in 2010, a 0.3 percent increase. Employment in the retail trade sector is forecast to expand nominally.

After approx. three million square feet was delivered in both 2008 and 2009, completions are projected to total just 1.2 million square feet this year.

Despite slowing construction, tenant demand will remain soft, causing vacancy to rise 60 basis points in 2010 to 7.1 percent. Last year, vacancy spiked 200 basis points on negative net absorption of more than 1.3 million square feet.

Asking rents are forecast to drop 2.1 percent this year to $27.64 per square foot, and effective rents are projected to retreat 3.8 percent to $23.90 per square foot.

Also included in the report is the firm’s annual National Retail Index, a snapshot analysis that ranks 44 retail markets based on a series of 12-month forward-looking supply and demand indicators.

Los Angeles moves up three places this year to No. 6. Washington, D.C., claimed the top spot for the second year in a row due to a low vacancy rate and healthy job growth. Projected job gains boosted San Diego one place to No. 2, and a lack of significant construction in recent years moved San Francisco up one notch to No. 3.

Forecasted job growth elevated New York City four places to No. 4 and continued layoffs dropped New Jersey three places to No. 5, despite low vacancy and the state’s relatively steady economy.

Falling sales contributed to Easton-Bell Sports Inc. posting a net loss for the 2009 fiscal year.

The Van Nuys-bases sporting goods manufacturer and distributor had a net loss of $4.1 million on revenues of $716.3 million for the year ending Jan. 2. For the previous fiscal year, the company reported net income of $13.4 million on revenues of $775.5 million.

For the year both team sports and action sports sales decreased.

In the fourth quarter, there were lower sales of cycling helmets and cycling components in the action sports category. Tight budgets at the high school level contributed to lower sales of football equipment in the team sports category.

More than 1,000 people attended the National business Aviation Association Regional Forum at Van Nuys Airport on March 11.

This was the first time in about five years the association has had a forum at the Valley airfield, choosing TWC Aviation as the location.

The NBAA returned because with its new 43,000-square-foot hangar and 22 acres of ramp space there was the room for the 70 exhibitors and the 17 static aircraft on display, said TWC President Andrew Richmond.

“It gives people a chance to see our new hangar and our new plane, a Falcon 2000 LX,” Richmond said.

TWC relocated to the Valley airfield from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank in 2008.

NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen gave an update on the efforts by the advocacy group in the fight over the image of business aviation has in the media and before lawmakers.

Bolen also said that signs of recovery for the business aviation industry are weak for 2010 but pointed to improvement in coming years.

Flight activity has picked up, sale prices of aircraft have stabilized and the inventory of pre-owned aircraft has dropped when compared to a year ago, Bolen said.

“We are beginning to see progress at the Economic level,” Bolen said.

For the past ten years Marjie Wells has steadily grown her business Stellar Events, which is exclusively devoted to planning large meetings and events for corporations.

Corporate incentive trips, her favorite to plan, have taken her to Cabo San Lucas, Las Vegas, Laguna Beach and as far away as Amsterdam and Machu Picchu in Peru, where she planned itineraries and coordinated activities and meals to the smallest detail for groups as large as 400 people.

A photo of the Inca ruins perched high on the Andes Mountains in Machu Picchu, where she took a group of 40 people in 2007, hangs proudly on the wall of her small office in Calabasas.

“It’s hard to imagine what really goes into getting all the people there in the right place at the right time, helping them with activities, and holding these great parties that are memorable,” she said.

In a business that’s all about relationships, her avid negotiating skills help maximize an event experience, getting the most value for a company’s budget, she said.

Ranging from $50,000 all the way up a $1 million per event, it’s been her accumulated industry knowledge and roster of contacts what has grown Stellar Events into a $3 million business by 2008.

Companies like Entravision Communications Corporation have relied on her services for years to plan events both big and small. Last year Wells planned the company’s incentive trip to Buenos Aires.

“It feels like you’re doing business with somebody who works for your own company, she’s that invested and committed to your interests,” said Penelope Wakeman, executive assistant to the president of the radio division of Entravision. “She’s very flexible and very insightful, we’ve used her for years and we just love her,” she added.

But the event planning industry has taken a hit.

The collapse of the economy and public backlash against excessive spending by corporate giants such as insurance company AIG, put a halt on most incentive trips and even impacted once routine meetings and conferences, Wells said.

“AIG had the most unbelievably devastating effect on our entire industry,” she said.

It happened in September 2008 when Congress found out that AIG spent $443,000, including $20,000 on spa treatments, for about 70 top-selling insurance agents and a few AIG executives at a luxury California resort, just days after accepting an $85-billion federal bailout.

Just like that, the incentive trip – a decades old industry practice used by companies to reward top producers who met sales goals, a proven way of improving business productivity, and a trip that in theory pays for itself- was considered excessive and lavish.

Almost immediately, hotels and event planners felt the impact as an estimated $1 billion worth of conferences were cancelled in the first two months of 2009.

Others cut back due to the recession.

Entravision, for example, scaled back on their incentive trip this year, and Wells planned their smaller event in October.

“Everybody in my industry would agree that there are not as many meetings, that they are smaller than they ever were, and in a way it’s more competitive [for event planners] and quite a few companies have gone out of business and given up.”

Like others, Wells has lost clients and annual revenue has decreased, but she has no intention of giving up. Instead, she’s honing her strengths looking for opportunities to diversify and adapt to the changing market.

The company already launched a strong marketing push that included upgrading their web site. Now, Wells said she is beginning to redirect efforts towards helping companies raise sponsorships for their meetings as an additional service.

“If you want to survive you’ve got to think ahead and be realistic,” she said.

At a time when everyone is looking to save money, pursuing the sponsorship concept would allow Wells to help businesses who understand the value of meetings as a way to build moral, create employee loyalty and build relationships, to also get a return on their investment.

With her years of experience Wells could offer businesses concerned about wasting money and staying within their budget, an opportunity to also get “more bang for their buck” she said.

As a way to test the ground, Wells recently launched a mall sponsorship campaign for one of her clients and in a very short time was able to raise enough money to pay for about 25 percent of their meeting.

“We had a really good response,” she said. “I’m thinking about pursuing the sponsorship concept because it doesn’t matter how good you are, if people don’t have the money to pay for an event, it doesn’t matter,” she said.

Even though incentive trips are not so big or popular anymore, there’s also an opportunity for Wells to help plan those more strategic meetings that help employees increase their sales and learn about marketing, for example, which she said are more needed in the current economy.

Wells, who majored in theater arts and started her career in the entertainment industry as an assistant director in film and television, excels at managing large crowds of people, something she learned in her earlier career, and is determined to continue to grow the business in the future.

Moving forward she plans to continue to stand strong behind the business principles that got her where she is: don’t get into debt, and don’t spend more money than you have.

”

We have no debt and we never have,” Wells said. “I think if you need to commit to a lot of debt to start a business you should really wait or think about it because it’s going to be your downfall. If you don’t have cash flow it’s very difficult.”

Stellar Events
Year Founded: 1999
Revenues 2008: $2.9
Revenues 2009: (projected) $1.9
Employees: 3

The Los Angeles City Council’s Trade, Commerce and tourism Committee has recommended phasing out older jets at Van Nuys Airport to cut down on noise from aircraft operations.

The ordinance now goes before the full council for a vote.

The Airport Board of Commissioners last May recommended passage of the ordinance and sent it on to the council for final action.

The committee is made up of council members Janice Hahn, Bill Rosendahl and Tom LaBonge. None of the three represent districts in the San Fernando Valley.

The ordinance sets noise limits at the airport for departing aircraft beginning with jets with a noise level of 85 decibels. By or after Jan. 1, 2016 no aircraft can operate at Van Nuys at more than 77 decibels save for certain exceptions.

About 24 aircraft based at the airport plus an unknown number of itinerant jets would be subject to the ban.

Prohibiting older jet (or Stage 2) aircraft is intended to reduce overall noise levels around the Valley airfield and create an incentive to retire the older aircraft or modify them with a hushkit.

Opposing the proposal are the Valley Industry & Commerce Association and the National business Aviation Association. Representatives from VICA attended the committee meeting to speak out against the planned phase out.

On her last day as general manager of Van Nuys Airport, Selena Birk was scheduled to be at City Hall when the City Council was expected to take up a proposed ordinance to eliminate older, noisier jets at the Valley airfield.

Over the decade she oversaw daily operations at Van Nuys, Birk received several earfuls about the noise generated by the jets that take off and land there.

To simplify the role of general manager it is all about balancing the needs of the airport’s tenants with those of the surrounding community. At times it probably wasn’t easy but it was also probably never boring.

Birk makes a lateral move to Los Angeles International Airport where starting March 1 she will handle federal compliance, landside operations, permitting for contract employees for the airlines, and planning for non-aviation emergencies.

Jess Romo, the general manager at LA/Ontario International Airport, will split duties as the new general manager for Van Nuys. Either Romo or his assistant GM Kim Ellis will be on-site in the Valley.

While there are many accomplishments that happened during her tenure, Birk isn’t one to take all the credit.

“I am a firm believer that an individual doesn’t accomplish everything,” Birk said.

When approved by the council, the jet phaseout will be the culmination of a years-long effort. So was the adoption of a new master plan in 2006, which sets out the uses of airport property.

Birk and the airport staff drew up policies that are not often done at general aviation airports, such as standardizing procedures and a wildlife management plan to increase safety. A motor vehicle operating permit program was started to control vehicles on airport access roads to make sure they had legitimate reasons to be there.

Also under Birk’s watch was the start of a project that had the vacant Air National Guard buildings demolished to make the land available as a designated area for propeller aircraft.

Romo is looking forward to taking on his new role at Van Nuys. He is not completely unfamiliar with the airport and its tenants having served there as a property manager in 2001.

“That is going to be an advantage for me in terms of reacquainting myself at the airport,” Romo said.

Overseeing both a general aviation airport and a commercial airport will present challenges as there are more differences than similarities, Romo said.

Making the airport safe and secure will be the goal he and Ellis will strive for.

“From a budget perspective it’s about making sure the airport can be as self-sustaining as possible,” Romo said.

NBAA Forum

The National business Aviation Association hosts a regional forum at TWC Aviation at Van Nuys Airport on March 11.

The forum features about 70 exhibitors, a static display of up to 20 aircraft, and sessions on tax and safety issues, and new developments in business aviation in California and the West.

Association President Ed Bolen will speak on the image of business aviation and how the use of jets for corporate Travel is the sign of a well managed company.

The general aviation industry, already smarting from a drop in activity due to the recession, took an additional hit of being portrayed as an example of corporate excess.

The NBAA and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association started the “No Plane No Gain” campaign aimed at lawmakers, policy makers and opinion leaders to get out a message that corporate air Travel improves work efficiency, gives access to smaller airports not served by commercial airlines, and the ability to visit multiple locations in a single day.

“We are seeing some evidence to suggest the program is making a difference,” Bolen said. “Flight activity has been trending up over the past couple of months.”

The NBAA typically does about three forums a year across the country to bring geographical diversity. Van Nuys was chosen as a site this year due to the strong general aviation community in Southern California and that no forums have taken place there in some time.

Airport Friends

With two meetings under its belt the new Friends of the Van Nuys Airport group is going well so far in bringing together residents and business people.

The Feb. 16 meeting drew about double the size of the audience for the first meeting in January, said Bruce Ackerman, the chairman of the group.

A similar group had existed once before that later evolved into the Citizens Advisory Council. The council, which meets monthly, deals primarily with policy issues and interacting with Los Angeles World Airports, the owner and operator of the airport.

The friends group is more about fun and camaraderie in support of aviation and the importance of Van Nuys to the city, Ackerman said.

(The audience) is a collection of people based at the airport, either owners or employees, and residents who surround the airport,” Ackerman said. “It is amazing how much they have in common.”

The next meeting is scheduled for March 16 at 7 p.m. in the conference room of the Van Nuys Flyaway on Woodley Avenue.

Transit Center

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority approved submitting development plans for a new regional transit center at Bob Hope Airport to the Burbank City Council for final approval.

The project is expected to go to bid in 2011 with partial opening to the public the following year.

The transit center will include a stop for Metro and Amtrak buses, a moving covered sidewalk to the airport terminal, and will consolidate all the rental car facilities into a single location.

And finally…

Speaking of Bob Hope Airport – after the Federal Aviation Administration turned down an application from the authority for a mandatory nighttime curfew, Congressman Brad Sherman said he would sponsor a bill to achieve bringing a curfew not just to Bob Hope but also Van Nuys Airport.

THQ Inc. and DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. have entered into multi-year, multi-property licensing agreements that grant THQ exclusive worldwide rights to develop and publish a host of video games.
The games are based on DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming animated feature films, Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom, Puss In Boots, and the CG animated television show, The Penguins of Madagascar.
The agreements grant THQ exclusive worldwide rights to publish interactive games based on these properties for all console and handheld systems, including Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Nintendo Wii Virtual Console, and wireless devices.
THQ plans to release videogames in conjunction with DreamWorks Animation’s theatrical releases, as follows: Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom is scheduled to be released on June 3, 2011; Puss In Boots is scheduled to be released on November 4, 2011; and THQ previously announced the rights to publish videogames based on MegaMind, which is scheduled to be released on November 5, 2010.
The CG animated television show The Penguins of Madagascar has been running on Nickelodeon since March 2009 and was recently extended to add more episodes. THQ expects to publish the first video games based on the show during its fiscal year beginning April 1, 2010.

Castle & Cooke Aviation Services Inc. is expanding its facility at Van Nuys Airport with a new aircraft hangar and office building.

The Los Angeles City Council and Los Angeles World Airports this month approved a 30-year lease for the aviation firm to operate as a fixed-base operator at the airport.

A fixed-base operation is allowed to sell fuel to transient aircraft and offer other services.

Castle & Cooke has operated at Van Nuys since 1975 for its owner, billionaire David Murdock, and later expanded with a hangar and fuel farm for corporate tenants.

The firm is leasing additional land adjacent to its existing facility on the west side of the Valley airfield to meet the 7-acre requirement to be considered an FBO. The project will include a new 50,000 square foot hangar and office building, a customer service lobby and a 75,000-square-foot aircraft apron.

In a prepared statement Murdock, chairman and CEO of Dole Food Co., said he has long wanted to have a fixed-base operation at Van Nuys and decided to build one himself.

“At last we will have a truly world class operation at Van Nuys,” Murdoch said. “Now crew and aircraft passengers can enjoy the comforts of home as well as the business resources they need while at our FBO at Van Nuys.”

Castle & Cooke became embroiled in a legal tiff this year when airfield competitor Maguire Aviation filed a lawsuit in August alleging that Castle & Cooke had been misrepresenting itself as an FBO and taking away fuel sales from Maguire.

At the time of the filing, Castle & Cooke was only allowed to fuel its own airplanes and those leasing hangar space.

The lawsuit was dismissed Nov. 4 in Los Angeles Superior Court at the request of attorneys for Maguire.

A Van Nuys hotel, a longtime aviation charter and aircraft management firm, and the designers and manufacturers of elaborate water features are the three finalists for the Economic Engine Award from the Valley Economic Alliance.

Each quarter the alliance recognizes a business that has made a notable contribution to the Valley’s economy, and shown a commitment to hiring in the Valley and working with other local companies.

The three finalists for the award to be presented Feb. 24 are the Airtel Plaza Hotel in Van Nuys; Clay Lacy Aviation in Van Nuys; and WET Design in Sun Valley.

The finalists were chosen from a total of 26 nominees.

A panel of judges reviews all nominations and a silent vote determines who will be the recipient of the award.

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills was a previous winner of the award for its expansion project that created construction and heath care jobs

The City of Los Angeles has joined a new coalition of municipal governments in the San Fernando Valley to address planning, transportation and other regional issues.

The city council voted unanimously Feb. 12 to be a member of the San Fernando Council of Governments. Other members are Burbank, Glendale, Santa Clarita and the City of San Fernando.

The council becomes official once approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Among the functions the council will take on is coordinating efforts for obtaining state, federal and regional grants in support of planning projects; contract for the services of public/private organizations, managers, researchers, planners, engineers and other consultants; and build a consensus among the members to address regional and subregional issues, strategies, policies and programs.