Co-working and technology firms are leasing office space at a far faster pace than media and entertainment firms for the first time in Los Angeles. And to no one’s surprise, Google and WeWork are propelling that drive.
A recent report from Cushman and Wakefield reveals tech companies leased 1.1 million square feet of space so far this year, while co-working firms leased another 613,000 square feet. The combined 1.7 million square feet is almost triple the 585,300 square feet that media and entertainment companies leased so far this year.
Rounding out the top five were retail firms, which took 417,500 square feet; and the finance sector, which had 253,800 square feet. The Los Angeles Business Journal first reported on Cushman findings.
In 2019, the surge in office leasing for technology and co-working companies was largely driven by Google and WeWork. Google leased the entire Westside Pavilion, a 584,000-square-foot mall that’s being redeveloped into office space. WeWork, meanwhile, has been on an expansion tear. The co-working giant has signed deals for new spaces in the Arts District, Miracle Mile, and Downtown L.A. among others.
While entertainment companies are still actively expanding their office space — HBO leased an entire under-construction project in Culver City in April — the pace at which they are growing has significantly slowed since last year.
Last year, media and entertainment firms leased the most with more than 2 million square feet of space. Much of that was from Netflix, which inked a deal for 680,000 square feet of office space in Hollywood. The streaming company also leased an additional 170,000 square feet in Hollywood this year.