In most markets across the U.S. today, it is hard to find a real estate firm that has been in business for more than 80 years and that still has its original moniker. In the West, however, there is the Charles Dunn Company, alive and kicking since 1921.

3350 Wilshire Boulevard

Add to that longevity the fact that many Charles Dunn brokers stay around for a long time — the average broker has been at the company for 13 years — and you get a company that has a lot of experience in its markets. The company is active in every sector of real estate in all major markets in California and Phoenix, Arizona.

Western Real Estate Business recently met with the company at its headquarters in downtown Los Angeles to get a look inside one of the giants of the business. While there, we met with Michael Dunn, executive vice president/regional manager, Joseph Faulkner, executive managing director, Wayne Saldana, senior vice president/ regional manager and Fred Sheriff, senior vice president/director of brokerage operations.

The sprawl of Los Angeles — seemingly evident throughout the area’s history — really began in the 1940s. The post-World War II boom made land sales a viable option, a development that factored largely into the Charles Dunn Company’s expansion. The firm also was one of the first brokerage companies to sell commercial land at that time. It helped to develop the Wilshire Boulevard corridor in the early 1950s, which became the West Coast headquarters for the insurance industry. At the time, Los Angeles County provided a real estate tax break for insurance companies to build along the Wilshire corridor. Today, thanks to that incentive, Wilshire Boulevard has a 15 million-square-foot office market. As the buildings were developed, of course, someone had to lease them. Since Charles Dunn was already selling the land to the insurance companies, it took the initiative and became their leasing agent as well.

In the early 1960s, the company’s leasing activity had increased so much that Charles Dunn opened a property management division. The division started with a handful of small office and apartment properties.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Charles Dunn Company began opening satellite offices in other areas of the region. Aside from its headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, the company opened offices in Orange County, West Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley. Later, offices were added in the Inland Empire and South Bay. Today, the company has offices — and the full range of capabilities — in Greater Los Angeles County, Orange County, Phoenix, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Diego.

“We grew from a small brokerage business into a full-service commercial real estate firm with a strong presence throughout Southern California, Phoenix and Northern California,” says Michael Dunn.

888 South Figueroa Street

Today, Charles Dunn Company is owned by Walter J. Conn, who also serves as chairman and CEO. Conn purchased the company from the Dunn family ownership in 1995. Conn has been with the company since 1963 and, together with Jay D. Haskell, who leads the company’s brokerage division, is largely responsible for its future growth.

Charles Dunn Company has a number of capabilities that are focused on the western region in which it operates. From property management to investment sales to commercial leasing to construction services to financial services, the company has many areas of expertise. The firm offers corporate services including portfolio management and lease auditing to large companies. It also offers construction management and consulting services for companies wanting to develop their own properties. Financial and investment services, such as arranging loans or equity participation, are done through the company’s subsidiary, Charles Dunn Capital. The company currently has a large property management division, which has a portfolio of more than 20 million square feet.

But, above all, brokerage is what most people think of when they hear the name Charles Dunn Company. And that is the mainstay of the company’s business. Generally, the company completes huge volumes of deals every year. It handles a broad range of property sizes from the sale and leasing of small buildings to multi-million-dollar investment and user deals. The company’s largest transaction so far this year was managing director Michel Hibbert’s representation in Wilshire Landmark’s acquisition of a 93-unit high-rise condominium site in Westwood, which sold for $27 million. Another big assignment currently pending for the company is the sale of the 290,000-square-foot high-rise City National Bank building in downtown Los Angeles, which the company currently is marketing.

About 40 percent of the company’s sales activity is in the office sector, while 30 percent is in the multifamily area, and 15 percent of the business is each in the retail and industrial fields. The company’s revenue is traditionally split evenly between leasing and sales. Thus far in 2003, about 75 percent of revenue is from sales due to lower interest rates and a shift away from the slumping stock market.

“We are a reflection of the market, and the fact that we’ve been in it so long,” says Michael Dunn. “If you look at the landscape of Los Angeles, it is not one market but it is a series of pockets of different types of real estate throughout a huge area. Our services tend to reflect that.”

Having brokers with longevity in the business means that there are many experts in each Charles Dunn office. Often, brokers come to Charles Dunn because of the firm’s reputation as a place where seasoned brokers are respected and supported as assets of a company, not just cogs that are meant to drive revenue for a large machine.

“Every brokerage firm has its culture,” says Sheriff. “As a broker, you look to find the culture that suits your interests. We have a lot of brokers that come to Charles Dunn because of what they know about the firm and its culture.”

One defining factor that sets a number of Charles Dunn brokers apart is that many of the senior brokers own commercial real estate themselves. As owners, they have an owner’s perspective each time they enter a deal for a client as the broker.

Recent assignments for the firm on the property management side range from a 52,000-square-foot office building in Mission Valley to a 315,000-square-foot office building on Wilshire Boulevard to the Los Angeles World Airport Portfolio, which consists of 400 properties near LAX. The commercial sales division is working with the Los Angeles Unified School District to assist it in finding locations for new high schools in infill areas.

“It has been an interesting and challenging experience,” says Michael Dunn. “The minimum site for a high school is 15 acres. It is difficult to find 15 acres of land in Los Angeles, which is one of the most developed areas west of the Mississippi.”

Though difficult, Charles Dunn has achieved some sites for the district.

On the investment sales side, Charles Dunn is also diversified in its practice. It handles everything from a multi-million-dollar high-rise sale to representing an elderly couple selling their eight-unit apartment complex. Most of the company’s retail work is done from the landlord side of the equation.

“We are willing to meet the needs of any client,” says Michael Dunn. “We have a diverse group of people who are willing to take on any challenge, and we have a management group that can service after the sale.”

©2003 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.