By Craig Peters
CBRE Executive
It was a typical Tuesday morning on March 10, 2020, as I handed my car over to the valet at the Americana. I walk across the street to our office building, juggling a quad espresso in one hand (it’s 6:45 a.m.) and my laptop bag and access card in the other. Elevators open up to the seventh floor of the former Masonic Temple and I think to myself, “These offices are an absolute masterpiece — a striking integration of eras, with restored original 1920s wood trusses and contemporary architecture, on full display in the two-story ‘Heart.’”
I step into a glass conference room as my team arrives for our 7 a.m. team meeting. Little did we know that this would be the last time we would step into that space for more than a year. Everything was about to change, and we were about to greatly evolve.
The pandemic and accompanying lockdown have made the last 12 months challenging for all of us. But we have been the lucky ones as we focus on industrial and suburban office properties. Our jobs were intact as we represented essential industries and, by extension, were deemed essential. As living rooms and patios became our “new offices,” and meetings now involved being Zoom-bombed by kids and pets, we needed to quickly embrace change and get to work. Our clients needed us now more than ever to navigate the chaos and provide a steady hand as they reeled from the emotional toll of an uncertain future and polarizing politics. My team and I have always embraced the motto of “When it rains, you learn to work in the rain” — but I’ve never worked as hard in my life (or consumed more hand sanitizer).
Zoom calls on the way to caravan tours followed by yet another Zoom meeting — every day and many weekends. My incredible team pulled together and delivered over 9.7 million square feet in building and land sale and lease transactions throughout Southern California in 2020 alone.
We discovered something extraordinary within ourselves — an unflinching evolution. My old baseball coach used to call it the Four D’s – Dedication, Determination, Discipline and Desire. We met unprecedented times with unprecedented stamina and provided outcomes for our clients that maximized the value of their real estate portfolios.
Now, how can we help your business reach the next stage in its evolution?
For more information about CBRE, visit cbre.us/people-and-offices/craig-peters, or call (818) 907-4616.
