In the first lease, Lockton Insurance Brokers signed a 10-year renewal for 47,984 sf at Ernst & Young Plaza. The tower stands at 725 S. Figueroa St., on the corner of Figueroa and 8th Street.
According to the terms of the agreement, Lockton will occupy the entire 35th and 36th floors of the building, which encompass a total of 47,984 sf. Although none of the parties involved would disclose the dollar value of the deal, brokers tell GlobeSt.com it's worth about $12 million.
.Christina E. Bellinghausen and Robert F. Chavez of the Staubach Co.'s Los Angeles office represented Lockton Insurance. TrizecHahn Office Management's Andy Stewart represented the building owner, WHTC Realty LLC.
In the second deal, the law firm of Weston, Benshoof, Rochefort signed an 11-year sublease valued at about $15 million for 60,000 sf of office space at 333 S. Hope St. The space was previously rented by BP Amoco, the London-based energy giant that took over LA-based Arco about two years ago and has fired thousands of workers as it digests the merger.
Insignia/ESG brokers Todd Doney, Gregory Tippin and Nico Vilgiate represented BP in the transaction. Steve Bay and Clay Hammerstein of Insignia's Downtown office represented the law firm.
Downtown's 21% vacancy rate is the highest of any LA County submarket, according to a recent report by locally based brokerage Cushman Realty Corp. But its low rental rates--equal to about 65% of those charged in the toney Westside market--has started to attract more tenants to the Central Business District.
Insignia broker Doney, who helped to negotiate BP Amoco's sublet deal, tells GlobeSt.com that the CBD market will get even stronger in the months ahead. "Downtown is attracting more 'price-conscious' tenants," he says. "I think the [CBD's] vacancy rate will continue to drop, and that more investors will get involved in the market because its long-term outlook is good."
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