Multifamily is all about amenities these days.

California Landmark founder Ken Kahan (far left) said one of the amenities his firm includes is rooftop swimming pools, since in California "people love being outside."

He and other panelists spoke about the draw of amenities for multifamily living at Bisnow's Future of SoCal event. Other panelists included Polaris Pacific partner Paul Zeger (second from left), Century West Partners CEO Steve Fifield, Laramar Group's Matt Levy, TruAmerica Multifamily COO Lynn Owen, and
Enenstein Ribakoff LaViña & Pham transactional division department chair Sal LaViña.

Residents are drawn to amenities, including retail, in their neighborhoods and geographical locations, according to Paul.

He said there is a concentration of people who want to live in neighborhoods that have a feeling of connectivity.

Matt said his company is "hyper-focused" on building around desired locations.

Steve said while some ask whether DTLA will be able to absorb all the units being built, two years from now, people will complain about a "terrible undersupply" in LA. He's speaking here with TruAmerica Multifamily's Lynn Owen. TruAmerica focuses on value-add properties.

Sal moderated the multifamily panel.

Discussion at the event also looked at trends in construction and development in SoCal.

In construction and development, there has been a trend toward converting multipurpose spaces and conference rooms into studio space and using them to shoot web videos.

Another trend is blending office space and studio and production space, especially in LA.

However, from a software application standpoint, Harman International director of business Dave Wood (second from left) said the construction industry is lagging.

He is shown here with moderator Cozen O'Connor litigator David Shimkin (far left), Swinerton director of project services David Cramp and CityLift Parking CEO Scott Gable.