Jim Lindvall of the Grubb & Ellis North Los Angeles office tells GlobeSt.com that the San Francisco-based health care provider has renewed for approximately one less floor of space at the office building, a reduction of about 18,000 sf in the health care company's facilities there. Lindvall and Dan Sanchez, also of the Grubb & Ellis North Los Angeles office, represented the property owner, Boston-based Trillium Property, LLC. Matthew Miller and Jerry Porter of CRESA Partners represented Blue Shield, which has been in the 17-story, class A office tower, which is located at 6300 Canoga Ave., since 1998. The building is 92% occupied.

Financial terms of the Blue Shield lease were not disclosed. Based on asking rates and the rents at which deals are being negotiated in the Warner Center market, industry sources believe the health care company's deal amounted to somewhere between a $2.25 and $2.35 per sf transaction.

The building occupied by Blue Shield, built in 1988, is one of two twin office towers at the Trillium site, which also includes a Hilton Hotel on site and a Cheesecake Factory restaurant.

Lindvall tells GlobeSt.com that the Warner Center office market is among the healthiest of the San Fernando office neighborhoods, with a direct vacancy rate of about 16% and not a great deal of sublease space available.

In the Greater San Fernando Valley, it's one of the most competitive office markets and one of the best values, Lindvall says. The rents may not necessarily be less than they are in competing markets, he says, but tenants can find higher quality space for comparable rents. Blue Shields renewal is a positive factor for the Warner Center market, Lindvall adds, because a tenant that size would have a big impact on the overall market if it chose to move rather than renew.