Brainard: Office leasing activity levels are mixed throughout the greater LA area. The more traditional office submarkets and product type are the ones most impacted by decreased or flat activity. The newer projects and creative office inventory, which appeal to the growing digital media and innovation companies, are experiencing the most activity. For example, certain buildings in Culver City, West Hollywood and Hollywood have been attracting creative companies, particularly as it relates to content creators. Other niche submarkets such as the DTLA Arts District are also garnering more interest with Warner Music's commitment to the Ford Factory and Spotify's imminent lease deal at the At Mateo project.

GlobeSt.com: How is the slow down creating options and opportunities for tenants?

Brainard: There is an abundance of options for tenants, especially if they are willing to be flexible on geography and the type of building they occupy. For example, the majority of vacant space in the market is traditional office product. With some vision and a good architect, many of these individual office spaces can be adapted and value-engineered with a more creative aesthetic and functional layout, often at a significantly lower overall occupancy cost as compared to a newer creative office development or building. Additionally, there are several new creative office developments delivering to the market and older traditional buildings being re-positioned overall as creative office with modern infrastructure that offer tenants the full spectrum of amenities, technical infrastructure, good parking, and efficient floor plates to support today's higher density office user.

GlobeSt.com: How are you advising your clients, both on the tenant and landlord side, as a result?

Brainard: At Savills Studley, we represent only the occupiers of space and are huge advocates of tenants adopting a very strategic approach when planning their real estate. We strongly believe taking more time in advance of a real estate transaction to thoroughly plan and lay the foundation is critical to the overall success of a space and how it supports the tenant's business operations, talent recruitment/retention, brand and culture. As such, Workplace Strategy services, the study of how our clients use space and how to tailor the space to optimize each client's specific business drivers, has become a critical component in virtually every client facility requirement. Additionally, the Project Management role comes into play in this discovery phase. Tenants want an upfront blueprint of space square footage and usage, along with the costs and time periods associated with renovating or realigning current offices versus moving/building out new space.