Hertz Investment Group is a real estate investment company. The company was founded by

Judah Hertz Judah Hertz (born 1948/1949 - died Feb. 4, 2021) was an American real estate investor and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Hertz Investment Group and owned many office buildings in Downtown Los Angeles, the New Orleans Central Business D ...

in 1977. In 2003, the company acquired a 26-story office tower and retail complex from

Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...

for $36 million. The property was sold in 2009. The company sold The

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

at Capitol Square in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

for $19.5 million in 2011. In 2012, the company defaulted on a loan secured by an office building in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. The company acquired Bridgewater Place, an office building in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

in 2013. In 2014, the company offered the Gateway Center in Pittsburgh for sale. In 2015, the company acquired 6 office buildings in the Southeast United States for $417.4 million. In 2016, the company acquired 4 office towers in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, and

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

totaling more than 3 million square feet from

Sam Zell Samuel Zell (born Shmuel Zielonka, September 28, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. A former lawyer, Zell is the founder and chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm, founded in 1968. He has ...

's Equity Commonwealth for $416.9 million. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the company's investment in office space became a liability, as

remote work Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), work from anywhere, telework, remote job, mobile work, and distance work is an employment arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, such as an office building, ware ...

became increasingly prevalent. On August 27, 2020, Judah Hertz stepped down as chairman and CEO. His son Zev Hertz took over five days later. In 2021, the company began investing in residential real estate and apartment buildings. In 2020, an office tower in Lake Charles, Louisiana was severely damaged in hurricanes Laura and Delta, leaving a 22-story tall tower owned by Hertz Investment Group covered in plywood boards. As the highest building in the city, the residents of Lake Charles were forced to look at the eyesore. The company is currently in litigation with the insurance company to repair the damage. Almost two years after Hurricane Laura, the City of Lake Charles declared the office tower to be a blighted property in an attempt to force Hertz Investment Group to begin repairs to the building, and then joined the lawsuit between Hertz Investment Group and their insurance provider to protect the City of Lake Charles if Hertz Investment Group took the insurance money and abandoned the dangerous and decaying building to the City to demolish at an estimated cost to tax payers of $20 million.

References

{{reflist Real estate companies of the United States 1979 establishments in California Companies established in 1979 Real estate companies established in 1979 Companies based in Santa Monica, California Privately held companies based in California