MERIDIAN FINDS BIGGER HQ.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer WOODLAND HILLS - A decelerating economy isn't slowing expansion plans at Meridian Meridian (mərĭd`ēən), city (1990 pop. 41,036), seat of Lauderdale co., E Miss., near the Ala. line; settled 1831, inc. 1860. Health Care Management Inc. At the end of next month, the Woodland Hills-based medical services company will move into its new world headquarters at 6200 Canoga Ave. in Warner Center and expand its 240-person payroll by about 33 percent, said Michael Alper, Meridian's president. The company is headquartered in a two-building complex comprising 30,200 square feet at 21045 Califa St. in Warner Center Business Park. A space crunch rather than a slumping economy is Meridian's biggest problem. ``We are completely out of space in the facility we're in now. In fact, we're in two buildings, and we really like the idea of being in one building,'' Alper said. The company is taking the top three floors, or 80,000 square feet, in the building owned by the development firm Trizec Hahn. Terms are $17 million for seven years. Meridian is taking immediate possession of the building's second and third floors and plans to occupy the fourth by next summer. The company provides administrative services and claims processing for a number of big health care operations. Business has been good, Alper said. ``Health care is always there, so our business has continued to grow steadily even through the economic challenge of the last eight to 10 months. And in a tight economy you see more focus being paid to health care benefits,'' Alper said. The company moved to the West Valley five years ago from Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. to take advantage of the area's labor pool. Warner Center is home to several big health care companies and this fact offset Meridian having to pay a business tax to the city of Los Angeles
A measure of overall sales that isn't adjusted for customer discounts or returns, calculated simply by adding all sales invoices, and not including operating expenses, cost of goods sold, payment of taxes, or any other charge. , Alper said. Health Net is also planning to relocate within Warner Center. Brian Forster Brian Forster (born April 14, 1960) was the second actor to play the role of Chris Partridge in the television series The Partridge Family. He joined the show in 1971, replacing Jeremy Gelbwaks, and continued until the show ended in 1974. , co-owner of Told Partners Inc., represented Meridian in the deal and said it was one of the biggest in the West Valley this year. Meridian's new facility is the former headquarters of Superior National Insurance. Even though the economy is softening, Forster doesn't think office rental rates will fall very much, because they had not gone up that much this year. ``I'm not really pessimistic pes·si·mism n. 1. A tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable or to take the gloomiest possible view: "We have seen too much defeatism, too much pessimism, too much of a negative approach" , and I'm not overly optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op . The fortunate thing in our area is we didn't have the great increase in rental rates like you did in other parts of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, ,'' Forster said. |
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