— By Caleb Hodge of KWP Real Estate —
The Los Angeles office market is undergoing a transformation. Finally. Downtown LA and most of the submarkets were decimated following the pandemic, but leasing activity is increasing. In fact, the fourth quarter of last year saw the highest annual leasing activity since the pandemic was officially declared “over,” according to Savills Research and Data Services. How is this possible? The answer lies in the evolving identity of office spaces, which is driven by the demand for creative office.
Despite increased asking rates in certain submarkets, Los Angeles is still a tenant-driven office market. The rub is that hybrid-working models continue to, at times, complicate leasing decisions. Fortunately, highly sought-out creative office space in Los Angeles offers two key incentives: premium amenities and functional, innovative office designs. Creative office space may still be considered niche, but the amenities and design layouts are critical when bringing employees back to the office. In fact, those attributes are highly desired by most modern office workers, whether their industry or physical space is considered “creative” or not.
With traffic being a constant factor in LA, centrally located offices with easy commutes for a majority of workers is one of the most enticing attributes of a workspace. Landlords can sweeten the pot if their spaces offer safe surrounding neighborhoods and easy parking. Submarkets with these advantages include Century City, Beverly Hills, Culver City and West Hollywood. Coincidentally, these all rank among the top seven submarkets with the highest rental rates in Los Angeles, per Savills’ fourth-quarter 2024 office report. Amenities such as green terraces, large meeting rooms, window walls, walkable restaurants and other conveniences can also mean the difference between a vacant and occupied creative office.
The City of Los Angeles is also putting its faith in creative spaces. East End Studio Mission, a $230 million, five-acre production facility south of the 6th Street Bridge in Boyle Heights, began construction last July. The project received public support from Mayor Bass, who cited the need for the new campus. The Los Angeles City Planning Commission approved another massive creative office project across the bridge in February. Labeled ADLA, the 15-acre independent studio campus will bring more than 300,000 square feet of Class A office, production and support space to the Arts District in Downtown, underscoring notable interest from investors and the city to bring film production and creative agencies back to LA.
The office is more important now than it ever was. As businesses work to bring employees back, there’s a growing emphasis on designing spaces that inspire creativity, encourage collaboration and strengthen company culture. These values will undoubtedly remain consistent for most office leases in the future as creative office continues to evolve.
— By Caleb Hodge, Vice President and Creative Office Tenant Representative, KWP Real Estate. This article was originally published in the April 2025 issue of Western Real Estate Business.