REAL ESTATE

Once tenants are in an office building, one way to help keep them there is to occasionally remodel to keep things looking new and up to date.

Langdon Wilson Mumper Architects in Newport Beach recently finished a job on the lobbies of two buildings at Koll Center Newport that first opened 15 years ago and have been relatively full since.

The Security Pacific National Bank building is 97% leased, and the Wells Fargo Bank building is 83% leased, says the Koll Co., which owns and manages the MacArthur Boulevard buildings.

The neighboring Sanwa Bank building--scheduled for remodeling next year--is also 97% leased.

Modernizing the buildings helps them keep a “competitive edge” in the market, said Rick Poulos, a partner at Langdon Wilson.

Among the improvements: The lobby in the Wells Fargo building got new light fixtures, carpets, marble facings on the walls of the elevator banks and new fabric on the wall; the Security Pacific lobby also got new carpet and wall coverings.