Realtor Expands With ‘His’ Area : Goodglick Sees City Future Tied to Pacific Rim Influence

Bill Goodglick looks more like he stepped out of a fashion magazine than an industrial building, but he and his realty company have been specializing in that kind of real estate now for 30 years.

The former Seattle resident also has been focusing on one place all that time: the Los Angeles International Airport/South Bay area.

Not surprisingly, his career has paralleled development there.

As industrial properties have shifted from warehouses and manufacturing plants to industrial and business parks, so has Goodglick’s emphasis: “We’ve moved from handling properties that simply housed objects to include those that house people at work.”

Know the Area

As the area’s development expanded with the growth of aerospace and high-tech firms, so did Goodglick’s company. Just this month, he increased the size of his offices from 3,000 to 7,000 square feet, and within a year, he expects to add seven to his 16-person staff.

Like Goodglick, his people know the area: “They have an average of more than 11 years of service in our company.”

And like Goodglick, they dress up: “It is the hallmark of my company, because I feel the quality of entrepreneurs we are dealing with is important, though they are in the warehouse/distribution or manufacturing business.

“All of my staff, to a man, dress very professionally.” To a man? “We had a lady, but she got married and left the company. We’re looking for more women.”

Visions of Future

William S. Goodglick looks formal but likes to be called “Bill.”

At 54, he is comfortable looking into the future. He’s too young to retire but has enough experience to make logical forecasts. (He was president of the Southern California chapter, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, and was a founder and two-term president of the American Industrial Real Estate Assn.)

And what does he see?

“I see the Pacific perimeter from Culver City to Long Beach, being heavily influenced by Pacific Rim nations.

“I see Los Angeles becoming a magnate to the Pacific Rim nations as New York was to Europe in the 1800s. As New York was influenced by England, the Netherlands and France, I see Japan, Korea and other Asian nations influencing growth in Southern California.

“I see potential in undeveloped land like Playa Vista. There is tremendous possibility of a city in the making.

Century Freeway

“I see the traffic situation being relieved as the new Century Freeway is built out.

“And I see a new light-rail system in the center divider of that freeway as a lifeline or umbilical cord for getting people out of the area.”

After 30 years, he’s still not tired of his business. During it, he and his wife, Sandy, raised three children, who are all working in science. One is a physician, one is an administrator and teacher at UCLA’s Neuropsyhiatric Institute and one is getting a doctorate in molecular biology in May.

Goodglick never wanted to do anything else for a living but handle industrial real estate since he got into the business after graduating from the University of Washington and came, with his wife and 6-month-old daughter, to Los Angeles. His first job here was with Allan K. Jonas, who had an office in Westchester. Goodglick kept his business in the area ever since.

And even when he’s 65, he says, he’ll keep working. “I don’t recognize the word ‘retirement’ because I love the business. It brings me as much satisfaction as anything I could do.”