Downtown L.A. fixture PwC will move to Century | Real Estate news

In another blow to the struggling downtown workplace rental market, longtime stalwart company tenant PricewaterhouseCoopers has agreed to move its Los Angeles places of work to Century City.

London-based PwC is one of the world’s largest accounting and skilled providers corporations, maybe best identified publicly as the official tabulator of votes for Hollywood’s annual Academy Awards.

Its brand is widely seen atop a 52-story skyscraper on Figueroa Street in downtown’s financial district, but PwC’s lease there expires in 2028 and the firm has agreed to move that yr to a premier building in Century City.

The company has been a presence downtown since the late Nineteen Nineties and leased its current workplace space on Figueroa Street in 2013.

Employees had been notified Monday of the pending transition to 2121 Avenue of the Stars. The red-granite and glass building overlooking Fox Studio Lot was previously called Fox Plaza, but could also be better identified to film followers as fictional Nakatomi Plaza, where Bruce Willis fought terrorists in “Die Hard.” Ronald Reagan saved places of work in the 34-story tower after his presidency.

“This move is about growth, connectivity, and the future of our Los Angeles business,” said Office Managing Partner Andy Sofield in a assertion to The Times. “PwC has continued to grow in the market, and the new Century City office gives us additional space in a location that better supports our people, clients, and teams across the region.

“Century City offers strong access to clients, our people, transportation corridors, and airport access,” Sofield said. “It is also a return to a neighborhood where PwC previously had an office more than two decades ago. We evaluated multiple options and determined Century City was the right fit for our future.”

PwC didn’t disclose particulars of the Century City lease, but a particular person with data of deal who isn’t approved to converse publicly said the providers firm signed a 15-year lease valued at about $200 million to occupy 150,000 sq. toes. The firm’s downtown workplace at 601 S. Figueroa St. is smaller at 114,000 sq. toes, according to real estate data supplier CoStar.

“Our business has grown, our number of people has grown, and this move gives us the opportunity to create a workplace that supports our teams, our clients and the continued evolution of our business in the region,” he said.

The company declined to elaborate on its causes for leaving downtown, but the move marks the latest high-profile exit from town’s financial core.

Many large firms have already shrunk their places of work or given up on downtown, including Deloitte and KPMG. Financial providers firm Wedbush Securities moved from a outstanding financial district workplace tower to Pasadena.

The move also displays the modified nature of downtown’s financial district since the COVID-related shutdown. Thousands of workplace staff departed, and they most likely received’t return again in pre-pandemic numbers. Many retailers and eating places stay closed and workplace tenants have said the streets really feel less secure than they used to.

Downtown has suffered from an oversupply of workplace space since a building spree in the Nineteen Eighties and early Nineteen Nineties. The lack of rent-paying tenants that has pushed down workplace values has change into more acute since the pandemic. Nearly 40% of the workplace space in the financial district was obtainable at the end of last yr, according to CBRE. Overall emptiness downtown has climbed from 14% in 2019 to 34%.

“We’re sorry to see PwC leave and believe LA city officials need to do more to retain major office tenants in downtown, the economic center of the region,” said Nick Griffin, govt vice president of the DTLA Alliance business enchancment district.

A single departure doesn’t outweigh downtown’s momentum, which incorporates a growing residential population and nightlife, leisure and tourism, he said. “The historic arc of Downtown L.A. is one of transformation and opportunity.”

Meanwhile, Century City has emerged as one of the area’s most sought-after workplace markets in latest years, said real estate broker Gary Weiss of LA Realty Partners. Offices there are more than 90% leased at rents that are the best in town, he said.

“When you look at how many companies have moved within the last three to years from downtown to Century City, I’m not surprised” by PwC’s resolution, Weiss said. The neighborhood next to Beverly Hills with places of work, housing and a major buying middle “has great amenities in a very safe environment.”

PcW’s new landlord in Century City is the Irvine Co. “We are proud to deepen our relationship with PwC as they establish their new presence at 2121 Avenue of the Stars,” said Roger DeWames, president of Irvine Company Office Properties.