Electronic Arts has signed a long-term lease for the space, but the length and financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Industry sources believe the video games company signed for $100 million in a long-term deal.

The 250,000 sf of Electronic Arts space will be in two buildings, the 58,000-sf Water's Edge I and the 185,000-sf Water's Edge II, which were designed by Gensler Architects of Santa Monica. The new The Electronic Arts space is being designed by HLW architects.

Redwood City-based Electronic Arts is expected to begin moving staff from its current studio in Bel Air into the new Playa Vista facility by the end of this year and to complete the move by the end of 2004. The new studio will accommodate up to 1,000 employees, compared with the 300 artists, engineers, testers and support staff now employed at its existing location. The company has had a presence in Los Angeles since 1997, when it acquired the interactive software business of the DreamWorks movie studio. John Batter, vice president and general manager of Electronic Arts' local operations, says the move is a response to continuing growth at the company and the staffing needs required for the development of new games.

Josh Wrobel of Maguire Partners led the negotiations on behalf of the ownership, with Matthew Miller of CRESA Partners representing Electronic Arts. Brad Feld and Eric Olofson of Cushman & Wakefield, along with Frank Campbell of Equity Office, also represented the property owners.

Water's Edge LLC is a joint venture development partnership between Chicago-based Equity Office, a real estate investment trust, and Maguire, which recently became a publicly held REIT. Equity Office has an 87.5% ownership in the joint venture and a 97% ownership interest in the Water's Edge project. Robert F. Maguire III has a 12.5% ownership in the overall joint venture, which is not part of the new Maguire REIT.

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