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ORANGE COUNTY -- In an effort to make it through the development doldrums, the Koll Co. is packaging its real estate know-how to sell to corporate America.
Koll, one of Southern California's largest commercial and industrial developers, has begun marketing itself to Fortune 1000 companies as a facility manager and build-to-suit developer.
With capital sources and development opportunities all but dried up, the company is positioning itself to work with companies on a national and international scale to provide a range of facility-management services, said Gary Alfson, vice president of Koll's national corporate services division. Alfson said Koll is prepared to provide services such as long-term facility planning, asset management and property valuation, as well as help corporations locate new buildings to occupy.
"You can't be just a developer any longer, anywhere in the country," said Alfson, who for the past five years has been cultivating Koll's relationships with Fortune companies. "It's critical for us right now to service corporations. All real estate companies will have to make a change."
The current real estate market slowdown has hit developers hard, forcing them to consider revenue alternatives that they might have turned their noses up at before. Even the plow horses of the industry have suffered. Southland builder Watt Industries Inc. has laid off 200 employees...