Spotify expands to 150K sf in the Arts District: sources

Music streaming giant Spotify has increased its footprint to 155,000 square feet at the Arts District’s At Mateo complex, as tech firms continue plowing into the Los Angeles office market, The Real Deal has learned.

Spotify’s lease for an additional 45,000 square feet comes roughly one year after it made the move from West Hollywood to the Arts District, joining the likes of Warner Music Group and other firms in the area.

Sources said Spotify is playing close to $4 per square foot, which values its lease at around $2.1 million a year. The firm did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Located at 555 Mateo Street, the $80 million retail and office complex was developed by a joint venture between Blatteis & Schnur and ASB Real Estate Investments. Though originally envisioned as an outdoor retail complex, At Mateo opened in early 2018 featuring mostly office space.

Spotify first inked a 10-year lease to occupy 110,000 square feet at the complex in July 2018. At the time, the deal marked a major expansion from the company’s former 8,200-square-foot office on the Sunset Strip.

Other tenants include the University of Southern California’s design school, as well as an offshoot of renowned Chicago-based restaurant Girl & the Goat. Spotify’s recent lease brings the complex up to full occupancy.

Mike Condon Jr., Pete Collins, Andrew Tashjian and Brianna Demus of Cushman & Wakefield had the listing. They could not be reached for comment.

Spotify is one of many tech companies that have been gobbling up office space across L.A., exceeding the leasing velocity of media and entertainment companies for the first time. A recent report from Cushman & Wakefield reveals tech companies have leased 1.1 million square feet so far this year, roughly double that of entertainment firms.