The Golden State's commercial real estate business certainly had its ups and downs in recent years, not surprising for a region that house some of the netion's largest and most diverse property markets. The constants in this ever-changing region are the hard work and achievements of the commercial property executives that have shaped the market over the past decades. Here's a look at some local icons who've become household names.

This summer, Newport Beach, CA-based American Healthcare Investors and Griffin Capital Corp., the co-sponsors of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II Inc., paid $106.7 million for 14 medical office buildings throughout the nation. Danny Prosky, a principal of American and president and chief operating officer of the REIT, said at the time of the deal that the firm continues to grow the portfolio and that most of those assets are on the campus of, in close proximity to or strongly affiliated with, major healthcare systems, a characteristic the firm values when evaluating potential purchases.

This summer, BioMed Realty Trust Inc. closed on its purchase of two parcels of land comprising approximately 28 adjacent acres in San Diego. The price was approximately $47 million. Concurrently, the company also entered into a long-term ground lease for both sites with Advanced BioHealing Inc., a regenerative-medicine company and subsidiary of Shire plc that develops, manufactures and commercializes living cell-based therapies.

TOKYO—In June 2010, New York City-based Fortress Investment Group LLC closed its Fortress Japan Opportunity Domestic Fund at its cap of $800 million. Through year-end 2011, the fund had invested over 81.1 billion in commitments and recalled capital, while generating over ¥46.1 billion of proceeds to the fund. The fund has invested primarily in real estate-related debt and other assets in Japan.

LOS ANGELES—Though the local economy has turned a corner, according to multiple market reports, economists and other industry sources, it's still growing at a sluggish pace, with some businesses holding back on hiring. And with the availability in the local office market in a holding pattern, reasonable pricing is prompting some tenants to buy property here rather than lease space.

When anyone mentions Southern California, and L.A. in particular, the biggest infrastructure issue that comes to mind is traffic congestion. If you came to the city in the 1920s, '30s and '40s, it was a dynamic, busy and dense downtown—a slightly less claustrophobic version of cities like Manhattan or Chicago in terms of the amount of cars and people on the street, Carol Schatz, president and CEO of the Central City Association of L.A. and Downtown Center Business Improvement District, tells Real Estate Forum.

LOS ANGELES—Oil/gasoline prices have risen sharply over the past several months, and with no end in sight to the political turmoil in the Middle East, the upward trend is likely to continue. So says the 2012 Casden Multifamily Forecast from the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate. But that should bode well for "multifamily product closer to the economic centers of Southern California," says USC Casden Forecast author Tracey Seslen.

Last year, insurance broker Bolton & Co. needed to create a long-term office facility featuring high-end finishes in Pasadena. The organization, which was moving from 245 S. Los Robles Ave. in Pasadena, was seeking a space that fostered employee collaboration and highlighted their brand, with an April 2011 move date.