Top 5 Office Projects Under Construction in Southern California

As of August, approximately 13.2 million square feet of office space was underway in Southern California, according to CommercialEdge data. While most projects kicked off before the health crisis, developers broke ground on some 2 million square feet of office development year-to-date through August.

The Los Angeles metro area led development activity, with more than 9 million square feet of office space in the pipeline. The metro also saw the most deliveries so far this year, with more than 1.5 million square feet of office space completed between January and August.

The list below highlights the largest office properties underway across Southern California, based on CommercialEdge data.

5. Source: CommercialEdge

5. The Press, Orange County

Invesco Real Estate and SteelWave are redeveloping the former Los Angeles Times newsroom and printing plant in Costa Mesa into a creative office campus. The Press is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2022.

The more than 19-acre site at 1375 Sunflower Ave. will house 380,856 square feet of creative office space, around 52,000 square feet of retail and a 1-acre park featuring open-air coffee shops and art installations. The project will pay homage to its history through preserved elements of the original structure, including the canopies, monolithic concrete walls, steel frames and machine rooms.

Invesco and SteelWave purchased the property in 2017 for $65 million and broke ground on the development in 2019. Earlier this year, KKR provided more than $251.4 million in construction financing. The new loan retired a $117.2 million mortgage from Square Mile Capital Management originated in 2020.

The Press. Rendering courtesy of Newmark Knight Frank

4. 1472 Alton Parkway, Orange County

Edwards Lifesciences is expanding its headquarters in Irvine with the addition of a 479,000-square-foot development featuring office, lab and conference space. The four-story project is taking shape on 10 acres adjacent to the existing 32-acre campus near the intersection of Red Hill Avenue and Alton Parkway.

The $240 million project broke ground in 2019 and is expected to come online by the end of this year. Upon completion, the campus will accommodate around 4,000 employees. In addition to the ground-up development, Edwards also acquired a 52,000-square-foot building on the Santa Ana side of Alton Parkway, near Red Hill Avenue.

3. The Culver Studios, Los Angeles

Hackman Capital Partners started the redevelopment of the historic film and studio space in 2018. The company selected Gensler to design the revamp of the studio—originally built in 1918—while preserving its historic structures.

Upon completion, The Culver Studios will encompass a total of 720,850 square feet of space, featuring the mansion and bungalows, as well as five new buildings comprising 500,000-square feet of creative office space, and two new parking structures with more than 1,900 parking spaces.

Amazon Studios will occupy around 530,000 square feet at the refurbished property, including four of the five new office buildings, the mansion and bungalows. The property is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of 2021.

One Westside, Los Angeles (Hudson Pacific and Macerich; rendering by Gensler via Mayor Eric Garcetti/Twitter)

2. One Westside, Los Angeles

A joint venture of Hudson Pacific Properties and Macerich is transforming the former Westside Pavilion shopping mall in Los Angeles into a creative office space. The 680,000-square-foot redevelopment, located at 10800 W. Pico Blvd., will feature 584,000 square feet of office space, while 100,000 square feet will be retained to continue housing entertainment retail.

In 2019, Google signed a 14-year lease for the entire office component and will begin its lease term in 2022, when construction and build-out of the tenant improvements are expected to be completed. Wells Fargo Bank financed the project with a $414.6 million construction loan. The four-year loan is scheduled to mature in late 2023.

1. 801 Broadway, Los Angeles

The makeover of the 1.1 million-square-foot historic development is anticipated to breathe new life into downtown Los Angeles. Upon completion, the 14-story mixed-use building will feature 624,500 square feet of office space, 345,000 square feet of retail and 150 boutique hotel rooms.

Plans also include the transformation of the building’s rooftop into a public green space. The project, designed by Omgivning, is slated for completion in late 2021.

Broadbridge LLC, a joint venture of Continental Equities and Waterbridge Capital, acquired the building for more than $122 million in 2014. Later, in 2016, the partnership secured $165 million in financing from Jamestown for the redevelopment of the project. The note was retired by a $213 million mortgage provided by Starwood Property Trust in 2018, which was later expanded to $218.7 million.

Amid the pandemic, Waterbridge Capital and Continental Equities put development on hold and planned to sell the project. However, earlier this year Starwood Property Trust agreed to extend funding for the development until the end of the year, therefore the joint venture is moving forward with the project, the Commercial Observer reported.