CIM Group Signs Downtown LA’s Largest Office Lease of 2023

The 52-story tower is part of California Plaza, a $2 billion mixed-use complex. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

In the largest downtown Los Angeles office lease of the year, Sheppard Mullin has signed a 119,217-square-foot, long-term commitment at CIM Group‘s City National 2CAL, a 1.4 million-square-foot office building. The law firm will relocate its headquarters at the property starting mid-2025 and will occupy floors 39 through 42 and some 7,000 square feet on the plaza level. JLL represented the owner, while CBRE worked on behalf of the tenant.

The landlord acquired the 52-story office tower formerly known as Two California Plaza in a seven-property portfolio transaction in February 2014, according to CommercialEdge data. The seller was U.S. Bank, which obtained ownership after MPG Office Trust defaulted on its $470 million loan on the asset in 2012.

City National 2CAL is part of a mixed-use complex dubbed California Plaza. The $2 billion property also includes another office tower, 82,000 square feet of retail space, a 400-key luxury hotel, The Yard, the Colburn School of Performing Arts, a 700-unit condo building and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.

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The office tower underwent cosmetic renovations in 2015. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

The office high-rise features floorplates averaging 27,000 square feet, 23 passenger elevators, more than 1,370 parking spaces and some 44,000 square feet of first- and second-floor retail space. Other tenants include LT Global Investment, HDR and Mitsui & Co.

Located at 350 S. Grand Ave. in the Bunker Hill District, the transit-oriented building is close to several dining and retail options, including Japanese Village Plaza and Saint Vincent Court shopping centers. Los Angeles International Airport is 19 miles southwest.

Bringing the office tower up-to-date

The 1992-completed property went through cosmetic renovations in 2015, CommercialEdge data shows. CIM implemented a capex program that included the upgrading of the entrances and plaza levels in order to improve the lobby area and create greater walkway connectivity. The addition of new restaurants, retailers and service businesses followed.

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In August, the property secured LEED Platinum certification for another five years. The building also received Fitwel and Platinum WiredScore certifications.

Los Angeles’ office market remains steady

According to recent CommercialEdge research, the Los Angeles metro saw a 2.0 percent decline in listing rates year-over-year as of October, falling to $41.84 per square foot. The vacancy rate also rose 130 basis points during the same period, reaching 16.0 percent, but remained 180 basis point below the national average.

In terms of sales, the City of Angels registered the highest transaction volume in the nation, totaling $1.87 billion year-to-date through October. The metro was trailed by Dallas-Fort Worth and Manhattan, with $1.78 and $1.71 billion, respectively.

Notable leasing deals in the metro include Lincoln Property’s 53,000-square-foot lease at BA/SE, a creative office campus in Los Angeles’ Hollywood submarket. Verve Talent & Literary Agency relocated its global headquarters to this LEED Gold-certified building earlier this fall.