CB Commercial dominates in first annual L.A. Brokers Awards.

CB Commercial's market domination, widespread multi-family investments and robust Century City leasing activity were among the recurring themes highlighting the L.A. Business Journal's first annual commercial real estate "L.A. Brokers Awards."

While participation in the inaugural program's survey was less than universal among L.A. County's brokers, the competition was clearly dominated by the nation's biggest business-property brokerage -- L.A.'s own CB Commercial Real Estate Group Inc.

Local CB brokers took 12 of the 25 recognition awards, including four of the five presented in both the retail and the industrial property categories.

Managing Partner Steve Soboroff of Santa Monica's Soboroff Partners took top honors in the retail field, closing $94 million worth of transactions in L.A. County between Oct. 1, 1993 and Sept. 30, 1994. Soboroff boasts prominent national retailers -- such as Circuit City, Office Depot and Oshman's Sporting Goods -- among his clientele.

But four CB retail specialists took the balance of the top five. They are Nelson Wheeler, Brad Talt, Ernest Brambila and Scott Manclark. And CB's Lew Horne, Doug Sonderegger, Ken Ashen and Frank Geraci placed Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5, respectively, in the industrial property category. The Klabin Co.'s Todd Taugner finished third in the industrial field.

Two other nationally active brokerages claimed the top spots for L.A. County office tenant-rep brokers. L.A.-based Cushman Realty Corp.'s R. Todd Doney topped that prestigious list with $127 million worth of closed transactions.

And local tenant-rep brokers affiliated with New York-headquartered Julien J. Studley Inc. took two of that category's top five slots. Steve Walbridge was first runner-up with $113 million, while the Steve Bay-Clay Hammerstein team took fifth place with more than $72 million.

Metrospace Corp.'s Jerry Porter -- who helped close nearly 680,000 square feet of Southland lease transactions during one week in October 1993 -- and CB's Hunt Barnett, placed third and fourth, respectively, in the office tenant-rep category.

Recent activity in the Century City sub-market generated significant honors in the office landlord-agent category, as a pair of prominent teams representing institutional landlords there took home the No. 1 and No. 5 honors.

The Premisys Real Estate Services team handling the signature twin Century Plaza Towers -- John Ollen and Scott Chalmers -- finished with a commanding grasp of first place, closing more than 700,000 square feet of relocation and renewal leases valued at about $160 million.

And the former JMB Office Leasing Co. team -- Mark McCaslin, Cindy White and Carol Roth -- leased more than 500,000 square feet at the four Century City towers they represent, with transactions valued at $57.5 million. Their employer just became part of Heitman Properties Ltd. in the wake of the big JMB-Heitman merger.

The three owner-rep brokers that finished between the Century City teams were Jeffrey Woolf of Lee & Associates in Sherman Oaks -- one of the former Beitler Commercial Realty Services San Fernando Valley brokers that switched over to Lee & Associates this year -- Bill Boyd of CB's Glendale office and Ron Heim of CB's San Gabriel Valley office.

Specialists working L.A.'s multi-family property field took three of the top spots in the investment sales category. They are John Walsh and Robin Ossenbeck, both of Marcus & Millichap, and Lambert Smith Hampton's Shane Astani.

The top two slots in that category went to brokers who recently focused on federal RTC and FDIC portfolio dispositions, and retail property investments, respectively.

The former is Marc Renard of big national brokerage Cushman & Wakefield Inc., who finished far ahead of his field by closing more than $116 million worth of transactions during the program period. The latter is CB's James Donnerstag, whose $80 million in closed deals reflects his emphasis on the attractive "single-tenant net-leased" investment specialty.