H&M inks lease for design office in CalEdison in DTLA

Its Innovation Labs will occupy the space in the landmarked building

H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson with the Cal Edison building (Credit: H&M Group, The Cal Edison)
H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson with the Cal Edison building (Credit: H&M Group, The Cal Edison)

H&M Innovation Labs, which studies market insights and trends for the clothing brand, has inked a deal for 4,500 square feet in the iconic CalEdison building in Downtown Los Angeles, The Real Deal has learned.

Sources say the building at 601 W. 5th Street, formerly known as One Bunker Hill, commands rents upwards of $4 per square foot. That’s substantially higher than average asking rates in the county, which were $3.29 per square foot last quarter.

H&M did not return a call for comment.

The Swedish retailer announced in January that it will be launching a new millennial-oriented brand called “Nyden.” It will be led by Oscar Olsson, who most recently led the Innovation Labs, and designed out of the L.A. studio.

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Just this month, TubeScience, a video advertising firm, committed to a full-floor lease spanning nearly 20,000 square feet in the same building. Systems Source, a commercial furniture dealership, also inked a deal for 12,000 square feet.

Carle Pierose and Rob Erickson of Industry Partners represented the landlord, Rising Realty Partners, in each of the transactions, including the latest one. Andrew Sinasohn of Zacuto Group represented H&M.

Other tenants at the building include architecture firm Jerde Partnership, law firm Akerman LLP, General Growth Properties, Narrative Capital and Practice Aligned Resources. Sweetgreen occupies the street level retail space.

Rising and its partner, Lionstone Investments, completed renovations on the tenant floors at the 14-story, 277,000-square-foot historic property last year. The landmarked building is still undergoing renovations on some of the common areas.