KPMG Inks Leases for Two New Los Angeles Offices

KPMG is trading one downtown Los Angeles address for another, in one of the largest office leases of the year thus far.

The Netherlands-based accounting and professional services firm signed a lease for nearly 70,000 square feet across three floors at the U.S. Bank Tower in downtown L.A., CoStar reported. In addition to its new space at 633 West Fifth Street, the company has also signed a separate lease spanning nearly 50,000 square feet at the Plaza at Continental Park office complex in El Segundo.

KPMG’s current L.A. offices are at the 28-story KPMG Center at 550 South Hope Street in downtown. There, it leases approximately 88,000 square feet from landlord Morgan Stanley. KPMG plans to move into the two new spaces by next summer, according to CoStar.

“Both offices are centrally located and feature a modern and attractive open-office layout, top-tier amenities, enhanced technology and more collaboration space,” a KPMG spokesperson told the outlet.

KPMG’s lease is the largest downtown deal since April, when Oaktree Capital Management signed a lease for about 220,000 square feet in the City National Plaza complex at 515 South Flower Street. Financial services companies such as Oaktree and law firms like Fisher Phillips have been driving office leasing activity in the Los Angeles area over the past two years, toppling the once-dominant entertainment and tech sectors that reigned supreme in the early 2020s, according to Avison Young.

The KPMG lease adds to an active two months of leasing for downtown Los Angeles. Still, tenants have vacated 1.4 million more square feet of space downtown over the past year, sending vacancy to a record high of 21%, according to CoStar data.

With KPMG moving into the U.S. Bank Tower, the Silverstein Properties-owned tower will have a 32 percent overall availability rate. Across downtown Los Angeles, office vacancy hit a record high of 21 percent, according to CoStar data.

The market could be poised for a turnaround, however. Seven of the year’s biggest office deals have taken place since June for a total of nearly 215,000 square feet in lease volume. This includes DTLA Law Group’s new headquarters in the Arts District and the Consulate of India planting a flag in L.A. at the Aon Center tower.

— Chris Malone Méndez