WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA-The Pacific Design Center has named Jeff Lasky as SVP, director of leasing for the property.
Lasky will be in charge of overall leasing with special focus on the new RedBuilding at the PDC, where he hopes to attract a core group of creative users. A 20-year Los Angeles commercial real estate veteran, Lasky was formerly with CBRE.
“Jeff joins us at an exciting time for Pacific Design Center,” said a statement from Charles S. Cohen, the president/CEO of Cohen Bros. Realty Corp. “He brings with him an ideally suited background that includes expertise in marketing and leasing world-class office properties, creative deal structuring, and developing strong business and community relationships.”
The PDC previously had third-party brokers doing leasing at the property “with limited success,” Lasky tells GlobeSt.com. He says that he was hired in the hopes that a “dedicated person at the senior level would enable the leasing process to start in a better manner for the RedBuilding.”
Designed by architect Cesar Pelli, the RedBuilding completes the original vision for the 1.2 million-square-foot PDC property, adding 400,000 square feet of class-A office space to the campus. The PDC is located at the intersection of Melrose Ave. and San Vicente Blvd. Its three buildings are home to luxury designer showrooms, creative office space, and a film theater and conference center. The site's 14 acres are organized around an outdoor plaza.
The RedBuilding is now ready for tenants, Lasky says. “L.A. is not a pre-release market like San Francisco, New York or Chicago. One of the reasons is L.A. is not a corporate headquarters city. Corporate headquarters decisions are made well in advance of where they will locate, so for 400,000 square feet, the process needs to take place two-three years in advance. A big tenant in L.A. is 50,000-square-feet, a large is 100,000. To get them to commit to a pre-lease deal while under construction is not typical in our market. So that's been a challenge with the project.”
Lasky is banking on his contacts and network to make things happen at PDC. “It's almost like the launch of a new building as this point, even though it's been available for some time,” he says. “There's a big commitment here and we'll have an opportunity to make every deal and the right deals.”
He admits there are “a lot of misperceptions” about the PDC, alluding to questions about the vacancy rates in the buildings and the leasing status of the RedBuilding. The PDC is known for its very high-end designer showrooms and as host to several lavish events, including the annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards party.
Lasky acknowledges that the economy had an effect on the high-end designers and showrooms, with the great recession causing sales to plummet and vacancy gaps among tenants and in office space.
However, he points to the recent leasing surge in Santa Monica, Century City and Westwood as a potential indicator that the PCD is in bounce-back mode, particularly for new tenants interested in RedBuilding. “There seems to be a need for a really quality, creative-focused office space, which there's a shortage of in the west side market,” he says.
As previously reported in GlobeSt.com, Cohen has reserved a 15,000-square-foot penthouse at the RedBuilding for his West Coast real estate and media operations.
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