Los Angeles- January 21 2016 – CBRE Group Inc. and Caruso Affiliated are announcing the opening of the freshly renovated Masonic Temple, a historic structure that is now CBRE’s newest office in the Los Angeles area and developer Caruso’s first foray into the office sector. This month, CBRE moved 110 employees into the newly renovated space, an 87-year-old, former functionally obsolete Art Deco building, which will also include restaurants and adjacent ground-level retail, including East Coast burger chain Shake Shack.
The office was developed by Caruso and designed by Gensler, with input from CBRE’s Workplace Strategy Group. It features a stadium-seating assembly area in the vaulted cathedral-trussed penthouse, exposed concrete, refined woods, and structural steel elements that are mixed-in with recreated Art Deco pendants and modern LED lighting. The revamp of the building also included the insertion of 18 new, 20-foot tall windows.
The Masonic Temple, originally completed in 1929 and designed by Arthur G. Lindley, had been without a permanent tenant for 30 years before its recent revamp. Over its lifetime it has housed different Masonic organizations, a movie theater, a dance studio, night club and a classical repertory theater group. It is the first prominent adaptive reuse of a historic structure in Glendale and the Tri-Cities.
CBRE’s move into the Masonic Temple is part of its push to add unique working places that are paperless, address-free, collaborative environments. It is the next step in the evolution of the company’s workplace strategy, a concept it already implemented at its Downtown headquarters seven miles to the south.
“Both of these types of work spaces are giving us an edge as an employer and competitive market player, helping us hire and retain top talent by offering an incomparable working environment,” said Lewis C. Horne, CBRE president for the Greater Los Angeles and Orange County region. “For both of us, Caruso Affiliated and CBRE, the Masonic Temple will surely serve as a case study and a showcase for clients and colleagues from other regions.”
The added twist of the Masonic Temple office is its high-end concierge services, provided by Caruso Affiliated and available to all CBRE employees. They include laundry drop-off and pick-up, grocery shopping, car washing, reservations and more.
“Our goal is to offer best-in-class service in whatever we do, and by adding these types of amenities, we are offering a transformational office experience and the gift of time -- the greatest luxury of all,” said Caruso, who has also developed such properties as the luxury shopping center The Grove and high-end residential project 8500 Burton Way.
The Caruso team, with the help from the staff at its Americana @ Brand shopping and residential complex across the street, is providing these luxury concierge amenities. Offering such services to an office tenant is a first among landlords, according to Caruso.
“These services are meant to help shrink people’s so-called second shift -- when employees go home to such chores as washing clothes and preparing lunches,” said Caruso. “This type of office concept completely changes the conversation about work-life balance.”
For CBRE, the services first and foremost symbolize an investment in its most important asset, according to Horne.
“Why would a Fortune 500 company look to offer hospitality services to its employees that are more commonly associated with a luxury hotel or a high-end residential building? The answer is easy: We are investing in our most important asset – people,” he said.
Caruso Affiliated is also looking for additional projects to convert into luxury office space, and is also considering ground-up development adjacent to some of its retail properties.
About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2014 revenue). The Company has more than 70,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 400 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
