LAS VEGAS-The remaining Veer Towers inventory includes 11 penthouses, which CityCenter Residential says it also intends to sell.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—With restaurants like BJ's Pizza and Panera Bread under construction on locations in Menifee, CA, and with CBRE senior VP Scott Kaplan telling GlobeSt. com about the retail resurgence of San Bernardino County, can it be that things are looking up on the retail front? Multiple sources say there's truth to the statement.

LOS ANGELES—This summer, despite much opposition, the L.A. City Council gave its final approval to a new zoning code that could dramatically change the appearance and general feel of the city's neighborhood landscape. The Hollywood Community Plan, approved on a 13-0 vote, changes some floor-area-ratios that will allow for taller buildings. So, should we expect skyscrapers to soon dominate the area?

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.