PwC’s Move to Century City Is Another Blow to Downtown L.A.
Despite green shoots of recovery, vacancy in the submarket remains at historic highs
By Greg Cornfield July 7, 2026 4:00 pm
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The Los Angeles office market has shown measurable signs of recovery in recent months, but Downtown L.A. just suffered another high-profile setback.
In a further extension of the larger flight-to-quality trend, accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is set to relocate from Downtown L.A. to Century City when its current lease expires in 2028, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The firm signed a 15-year lease reportedly valued at roughly $200 million for approximately 150,000 square feet at Irvine Company‘s 2121 Avenue of the Stars in Century City. PwC will vacate its 114,000 square feet at the 52-story tower at 601 South Figueroa Street downtown, where its logo has been for years.
PwC said the move was centered on growth and accessibility rather than an indictment of Downtown L.A. PwC’s Andy Sofield told the Times the Century City location provides additional space while offering stronger access to transportation corridors and airports for its clients and employees. He also noted the move returns the firm to a neighborhood where it previously maintained offices more than two decades ago.
The move comes after Greater L.A. recorded nearly 4 million square feet of office leasing during the second quarter, according to Savills, which is 15 percent more than the prior quarter and nearly 8 percent above the same period last year. Leasing volume also exceeded the market’s five-year quarterly average by 22 percent.
But PwC’s move also adds to a list of marquee tenants that have either reduced their space or left downtown behind. For example, Deloitte, KPMG and Wedbush Securities have all moved away from the city’s financial district in recent years, while Bank of America recently signed the region’s largest office transaction of the first half at Century Park Plaza.
Century City has continued separating itself from the rest of the markets in Southern California. Savills reported the neighborhood commanded the region’s highest average asking rents during the second quarter at $7.67 per square foot per month, ahead of Beverly Hills at $6.71 per square foot.
But in Downtown L.A., overall office vacancy has climbed 20 percentage points since 2019, per the Times, and almost 40 percent of the office space in the financial district was available for lease at the end of 2025.
Irvine Company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
