LOS ANGELES—Viacom has signed a lease for 180,000 square feet with Kilroy Realty Corp. to anchor the Columbia Square development in Hollywood. This is the largest lease signed in the Hollywood submarket in the past 10 years. Viacom will occupy the Gower Building at the 685,000-square-foot creative office property.

Viacom, whose media networks include BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Spike TV, VH1 and TV Land is consolidating all of its West Coast offices into the new Columbia Square space. The company's West Coast headquarters is currently in Santa Monica, along with a spattering of offices throughout Los Angeles. “This lease just validates what we have been talking about for the last several years,” David Simon, EVP at Kilroy Realty Corp., tells GlobeSt.com. “When you think about Columbia Square and you think about the environment—with the retail, multifamily and office all working together—it really fit well in what Viacom was trying to do in bringing all of their brands together under one roof. Columbia Square really makes sense for Viacom, and it is a phenomenal branding opportunity for them as well.”

Viacom is exactly the type of company Kilroy is seeking to occupy the development. “Entertainment and media companies are similar in a lot of respects to the technology companies in Northern California in the way that they are using space and trying to creative great environments for their employees,” says Simon. Viacom's decision to consolidate its West Coast operations at Columbia Square further illustrates the strength of the Hollywood submarket, according to Simon. Viacom will take occupancy in beginning in late 2016. Gerald Porter and Matthew Miller of Cresa represented the tenant in the transaction, while Carl Muhlstein of JLL and a legal team of Raymond I. Friedman of Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside LLP represented Kilroy Realty.