LOS ANGELES-Driver SPG has received $14 million from the California State Bar to renovate the interior space of its new office building at 845 S. Figueroa St. in Downtown Los Angeles. The building is 111,000 square feet with five stories. The California State Bar will occupy floors two through five while Smart & Final will house the first floor.

“This is a bigger, more noteworthy assignment than many people realize,” says Brett Montgomery, Driver SPG project manager. “We will [transform] what was considered a defunct structure back into a very attractive property, housing one of the most prestigious organizations in California.”

Driver SPG is creating an open-flow space with flexible workstations, limited partitions and a modernized industrial atmosphere. To incorporate natural light into the space, Driver SPG is installing exterior windows on the concrete walls. The courtrooms and judges bench, on the other hand, will be more traditional with wood-paneled walls in a style Driver SPG calls “old-world ambiance.” The renovation and construction company will also revamp the building's lobby.

Although the building is in a high-traffic location, between the massive L.A. LIVE and the financial district, it had remained mostly vacant for several years until L&R Cos. sold the property to the California State Bar. An earlier remodel to the building exterior has already been completed, giving the once rundown building an updated, contemporary look. Driver SPG's interior project aims to achieve the same accomplishment.

Driver SPG's biggest hurdle may be the tight deadline the California State Bar requires. With the lease at its current AT&T Center location ending Jan. 1, 2014, the California State Bar is asking that the project be complete by December 2013. “We have a very aggressive schedule,” says Montgomery. “We are working double-shifts and weekends to make sure everything is done on time.” Smart & Final will remain open during construction, meaning Driver SPG will need to keep sound and dust to a minimum and haul materials though second-, third- and fourth-story windows.

In a recently reported story, CBRE is also moving its global headquarters to Downtown Los Angeles. Similar to the California State Bar, the building is a creative office space without assigned workstations.

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Kelsi Maree Borland

Kelsi Maree Borland is a freelance journalist and magazine writer based in Los Angeles, California. For more than 5 years, she has extensively reported on the commercial real estate industry, covering major deals across all commercial asset classes, investment strategy and capital markets trends, market commentary, economic trends and new technologies disrupting and revolutionizing the industry. Her work appears daily on GlobeSt.com and regularly in Real Estate Forum Magazine. As a magazine writer, she covers lifestyle and travel trends. Her work has appeared in Angeleno, Los Angeles Magazine, Travel and Leisure and more.

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