One California Plaza inked a lease for about 26,000 square feet with law firm Gordon Rees, The Real Deal has learned. Plus, it renewed another lease — Citigroup’s.
That’s a positive sign for the massive office tower plagued by vacancies and distress.
The earlier exit of another law firm delivered a major blow to the Rising Realty Partners and DigitalBridge-owned skyscraper in 2024, when Skadden left 100,000 square feet empty and relocated to Century City.
The owners later defaulted on their $300 million debt, and the building at 300 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles was placed in receivership in August. Receiver Trigild’s Chris Neilson confirmed the full-floor lease.
The 42-story, 1 million-square-foot tower in Bunker Hill is only 55 percent occupied, per servicer commentary via Morningstar Credit dated early February. The latest appraisal puts its value at about $120 million, compared to about $460 million nine years ago. Chris Rising’s Rising Realty Partners and DigitalBridge (formerly Colony Capital and earlier Colony Northstar) purchased the property for $465 million eight years ago.
The receiver kept Rising on to manage the property and hired JLL to lease it, The Real Deal previously reported.
Gordon Rees is expected to move in at the end of this year, when it exits another downtown skyscraper, the U.S. Bank Tower on West Fifth Street.
JLL’s Tim Miller declined to disclose pricing but said concessions were made to entice the tenant.
The office vacancy rate in Downtown Los Angeles was 34 percent at the end of last year, compared to Century City’s 12 percent, according to CBRE. Companies are fleeing downtown as they call workers back to their desks and landing in spots such as Century City, perceived as safer, cleaner and having more neighborhood amenities.
But there are some, similar to Gordon Rees, that are committing to downtown. Banc of California signed an 11-year lease for 40,000 square feet at 865 South Figueroa Street in October. KPMG signed a lease in August for almost 70,000 square feet in the U.S. Bank Tower.
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