Brookfield Signs Law Firm Mayer Brown to 55K SF in Downtown LA
By Greg Cornfield December 9, 2022 4:45 pm
reprints
Despite mounting uncertainty around the future of office space, the biggest commercial landlord in Downtown Los Angeles has a draw on major law firms.
Brookfield (BN) Properties announced that global law firm Mayer Brown signed an 11-year lease for 55,000 square feet and two full floors at the Wells Fargo Center offices at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hope Street on Bunker Hill. Designed by El Segundo-based Aref & Associates, Mayer Brown’s new digs include 100 individual offices, a two-story atrium and an indoor-outdoor terrace. Brookfield did not disclose rental rates.
“This exciting move signifies the firm’s investment in Los Angeles, which is a critical market for our clients and an anchor for us on the West Coast,” Jon Van Gorp, chair of Mayer Brown, said in a statement.
The Wells Fargo Center campus includes 2.4 million square feet between two Class A office towers. The buildings are linked by a newly completed amenity named Halo that features dining, retail, fitness, workspace and events space. Oaktree Capital, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and DoubleLine Capital are other tenants at the campus. Brookfield did not disclose an updated occupancy rate for Wells Fargo Center, but approximately 10 percent of the building, spread throughout the towers, is listed as available on the property’s website.
Much of the growing uncertainty about the future of office demand in Southern California centers on Downtown L.A. and its 33.4 million square feet of rentable workspace. According to CBRE (CBRE)’s third quarter data, the entire submarket is dangerously close to reaching 9.5 million square feet of space that is either vacant, available for sublease, or on soon-to-expire leases.
CBRE’s Todd Lippman, Clay Hammerstein and Danny Rees represented Mayer Brown. Brookfield Properties was represented in-house with support from CBRE’s Todd Doney, John Zanetos and Chris Penrose.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
