Rickey Gelb is the managing general partner of Gelb Group, a real estate development and property management company in Woodland Hills focused on the San Fernando Valley. He arrived in the San Fernando Valley in the late 1940s. A longtime civic leader, he has served as director of four banks, belonged to more than 20 organizations and served on numerous advisory boards. From his first Award of Merit in 1984 from the City of Hope, Gelb has been recognized more than 1,000 times. His most noteworthy awards include the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, a national award that recognizes those who help the less fortunate; and the Fernando Award for his volunteerism in the Valley.
Question: What are some of your North Los Angeles assets?Answer: We’ve got a hotel in Winnetka – the Best Western at Van Owen and Winnetka; and Winnetka Bowl and Lane 33 bar and grill. Both have been around for 50 years. We’ve owned them since 2013.Hospitality and recreation: Aren’t these two businesses very much impacted by the pandemic?That’s for sure! Since April 19, we’ve opened up and both are doing excellent. We had no business for about nine months. We kept most of our employees on the payroll and employed on federal subsidies and the hotel kept them all. We always had work for them to do: cleaning up the place, painting, doing a lot of upgrading. At the bowling alley, we still employed 10 or 12 people to update the business, painting, cleaning. Since the day we’ve opened up, we’ve been nonstop busy day and night. We’ve been doing more business now than when our lease was up in October. I’m hoping it’s not just people bored, coming in looking for escape. We haven’t done any advertising other than signs that say “Now Open.”How do you explain it?At the hotel, we’re getting higher prices now. Everything else is going on and people are paying it. And gas is still reasonable so they’re taking local trips.What about revenue from rented conference space and gathering halls at the hotel?We have no banquets, no meetings, no parties – we’ve got the facilities but no customers. We’re very lucky that during this time we’ve lost very few employees.Is there another commercial property in your portfolio that’s doing well, given the pandemic?We have a Taco Bell franchise in Granada Hills that’s doing very well. All of the employees are still there, and they’ve opened up the dining room. Prices have gone up a bit for wages and food costs. We had a lot of takeout and our drive-through is constantly busy. The reason I got the Taco Bell was because, as a kid, I loved the food.
If the Taco Bell is doing so well, why not open up more of them?I wish that at the time I had gotten all Taco Bells and nothing less. It’s a great business, well organized but to get one today, it would be very expensive compared to when I got it in 1987. We built it from scratch on our own land and I opened it in 1988. We talked about (opening another Taco Bell) but the business I’m in now is so busy that we (didn’t’ get around to it). Doing business in Los Angeles is not as easy now as 20 years ago.Why?Because of all the licenses and permitting. I just built a six-story parking structure for my truck because my truck gets vandalized a lot. I spend more time on consultants and fees than I do to build buildings. More per square foot to build the facilities than to build a luxury house. I feel sorry for newcomers coming into the city.How about labor costs?Labor is not only expensive but the permit process you spend money on consultants, and you’re delayed and that becomes expensive. With COVID, it was more delayed, more expensive.
So, have you taken advantage of the pandemic this year to renovate your properties?Right now, we’ve been spending the last five years upgrading our properties, making them nicer and handicapped needs. My wife (Lisa) is out doing a lot of decorating for elevators and hallways.Is all of this for an eventual resale?We’re not looking to sell anything; we’re looking to keep them nice and occupied. We’ve kept the quality appearance and street appearance. We’ve also got Pack Rat Self Storage in North Hollywood.Has COVID brought on more demand for self-storage? No, it had almost 100 percent occupancy since we bought it 20 years ago. We don’t really know because we were full before (COVID) and we’re still full.How do you manage such a diverse portfolio?We try to do most of our tenant improvements ourselves. We do painting, carpet treatment, we remove walls, add ceilings; almost everything for a suite or building. Unless it’s an emergency, everything we have is in the San Fernando Valley and our employees can stop what they’re doing and go over to the site. Most landlords are not in that position to make as fast a turn.
What do you own outside the Valley?An office building in L.A.; a shopping center in Anaheim; and a single-family residence in Anaheim. We like owning the property so sometimes we buy the property for the potential of the land.What are the problems with your properties?A lot of them have challenges and we just work through the challenges. If you pick the right tenant, the challenges are much easier. We try not to get tenants who require a lot of parking and a lot of space. In our leases, no more than one person every 2,000 square feet. There is one property where we have 14,000 square feet and a company wanted to move in there. They want to occupy 20 people and we kept saying no and they kept coming back with reasons why they should do it. We won’t do it.How does your wife Lisa Gelb fit into the business?My wife is very much involved in the business. We’ve been working side by side for 56 years. Today, she was at three different buildings (repainting) elevators. We do get a lot of vandalism and homelessness and graffiti, unfortunately, in our office buildings.What do you love most about the San Fernando Valley?I think the Valley is a great place to live. Most people are there to give back. I remember (former) Mayor (Richard) Riordan saying the Valley is the king of volunteerism and that more volunteers came out of the Valley than anywhere in the United States.Who are some Valley people whom you admire?Bert Boeckmann, David Fleming, Karl Boeckmann (deceased), Armand Arabian (deceased), Bruce Ackerman, who has since passed away, and Brad Rosenheim. They’ve always been there without a handout for themselves. I know a lot of people who do nice things but want something in exchange. In the Valley, we have a great group of people: Pegi Matsuda, Patty Wilson, Gloria Pollack, Joan Maltese. We have some great organizations such as OneGeneration, New Horizons, they do a good job.What aspects of your personality makes you good at your line of work?I’m low key, I have patience. I don’t mind working a long time. I don’t yell and I don’t scream.
How is your employee Gloria Pollack?(She’s) working out of her home and doing everything by email and still active with school and scholarships. She’s doing OK. At the last minute, her doctor recommended she not to get involved with too many people. We were going to have our scholarship awards, but too many people mentioned COVID-19 and they canceled it. Unfortunately, sorry we’re going to miss Gloria.It seems you and Gloria Pollack are on the same wavelength.Gloria, she likes the same things that I do. We love the same organizations and we like doing things for kids. She used to be a teacher and a mother to many, many children.
How has the Valley changed since the 1970s?We used to have one security car on all our properties; now six to 10 security cars and another one now and then. I don’t care if it’s Calabasas, Encino or downtown L.A. Seven homeless broke into the building and slept in different rooms. The police would not do it because it’s not what they do. We had to hire a company to go in there and ask the people to leave. These go on every day – I can tell you horror stories… The homeless today, they don’t get frightened, they don’t move when you ask them to move. They argue constantly. I had two of my security people get beat up. It’s scary out there. And I don’t see any light in the tunnel.
Does this impact rents at your buildings?Security happens to be a big expense right now. Utilities were at 3 or 4 percent, I now see 5 to 15 percent increases. The Department of Water and Power says there are more buildings with more computers, so global warming. Rent has to go up. Our landlords are trying to keep up with the rate of expenses.
What makes the San Fernando Valley so special to you?Even though I see a lot of negatives, I still love the Valley. Other than moving to Texas, I can’t think to another place I want to go. I wouldn’t want to leave the state, that’s how much I love California. But I’m not sure how long I want to stay here with (recent policies coming from) Sacramento and the federal government; but, as of right now, I’m happy. … I think it’s the people themselves makes the San Fernando Valley special. Their politeness. Their friendliness. It’s just a great place to live. … You can still drive down the street and wave and they wave back to you.
Property Optimist
