Big LA REIT Sees Ray of Sunshine in Energy Crisis

LOS ANGELES-The same energy shortage that is bedeviling California officials and sending utility bills soaring is providing an unusual boost to one of this region’s biggest commercial real estate owners. West LA-based Arden Realty Inc. is the largest REIT headquartered in Southern California. With nearly 19 million sf in its portfolio, it’s also the region’s largest owner of office space.

The company, headed by Chairman and CEO Richard S. Ziman, is renown for finding new ways to wring profits from its buildings. In the mid-1990s, it was one of the first REITs to aggressively market its rooftops to telecommunications companies that needed space for their satellite dishes.

Now, California’s widely publicized energy crisis is providing new fuel for one of Arden’s latest technology initiatives: The effort to make its buildings more self-sufficient when it comes to their power needs.