One of Los Angeles' best-known real estate professionals is launching his own firm after decades working for major brokerages and completing deals involving high-profile Hollywood companies and properties.
Carl Muhlstein is starting MuhlsteinCRE as he leaves his position as international director of JLL in Los Angeles, according to a statement he issued announcing his new endeavor.
MuhlsteinCRE aims to be an independent boutique consulting firm specializing in capital markets, leasing and development. He said the firm would focus on real estate deals involving soundstages, change-in-use projects and public-private initiatives.
“Carl has been instrumental to the growth of JLL in Los Angeles,” Charlie Smith, JLL senior managing director and the broker lead for JLL's Los Angeles brokerage practice, said in a statement. “His expertise, dedication and integrity are something we’ve all learned from him. We look forward to growing our office leasing business with Carl’s former team members, Managing Directors Hayley Blockley, Nicole Mihalka and Peter Hajimihalis along with our agency leasing leadership of Josh Wrobel and Jaclyn Ward.”
In his career, Muhlstein has worked with numerous big-name clients including Netflix, Viacom, Google, ByteDance, TMZ, PlayStation, Arizona State University and Guess, according to the statement.
He also has worked on sales and leasing of entertainment studios including CBS Radford, Burbank Studios, The Lot, Cinespace Chicago and Albuquerque Studios, according to the statement. He's also worked on other significant land sales including the Los Angeles Times site and the Colburn School in downtown L.A.
Beyond the new firm, Muhlstein plans to continue speaking about real estate issues and volunteering at University of California, Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Urban Land Institute, Southern California Development Forum, Commercial Real Estate Women Network and more.
In his statement, Muhlstein expressed "deep gratitude" for his time at JLL and said he looked forward to his next act navigating "uncharted territories in The Great CRE Reset," an apparent reference to an entertainment industry trying to get back on its feet after a multiyear pandemic, lengthy actor and writer strikes and a real estate market buffeted by high inflation and interest rates.
MuhlsteinCRE's website and office address are set to be live in January, according to the statement.