San Francisco investor is building $80-million creative offices in desirable Playa Vista
Construction is underway on an $80-million office building in Playa Vista as the Los Angeles neighborhood continues to draw businesses in creative fields.
A team led by San Francisco investor Rockwood Capital is erecting the 190,000-square-foot structure called WE3 that will be the third and final office building in the 6.5-acre Water’s Edge complex at Lincoln and Jefferson boulevards.
Rockwood bought Water’s Edge for $190 million in January from a partnership that included Los Angeles developer Robert Maguire, who built the first two buildings there in 2002 when Playa Vista was a new, unproven office market.
The buildings were at first slow to lease, but are forerunners of the campus-style office parks on the Westside that have grown popular in recent years with firms in technology, entertainment, media and other creative disciplines.
Water’s Edge has an Olympic-sized swimming pool, sand volleyball court and a gym operated by LA Fitness. Tenants include video game company Electronic Arts, ad agency Doner and entertainment company Pop Media Group.
WE3 is being built on what was formerly a parking lot and a soccer field. A new soccer pitch will be created with artificial turf on top of a new parking structure.
As designed by SPF:architects, WE3 will have floor-to-ceiling windows, private balconies and outdoor public meeting spaces including an elevated garden. It is set to open by mid-2020.
Andrew Blanchard, managing director of Rockwood Capital, said Water’s Edge, when it became available, represented “an extremely rare opportunity” to acquire property in the popular Westside office market that included a site approved for additional development.
Average asking rents in Playa Vista were $5.53 per square foot per month in the first quarter, well above the Los Angeles County average of $3.29 a foot, according to real estate brokerage CBRE.
Besides Water’s Edge, there are “virtually no additonal development sites left in Playa Vista,” said broker Jeff Pion of CBRE, who represents the landlord.
Rockwood Capital’s partners at Water’s Edge include GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund and developer Marshall Property & Development of Newport Beach.
Twitter: @rogervincent
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