DTLA Attracts Expanding Businesses

LOS ANGELES—The Downtown Los Angeles market is attracting small and growing tech office users. Soylent, a food technology company, is the latest company to move its headquarters office to the downtown market, signing a 16,400-square-foot lease at the Broadway Media Center. The company sites the thriving downtown center and the walkability of the submarket as the reasons it made the move.

“Our location is front and center of Broadway, which is undergoing a renaissance in both public and private development,” Rob Rhinehart, CEO and co-founder of Soylent, tells GlobeSt.com. “The immediate area is very walkable, a rare treat in Los Angeles, and we were able to get the top several floors of the building. Downtown had the space we needed now with room to grow as well. Not only is downtown rapidly becoming a thriving district, it is centrally located and easily accessible from public transit meaning employees can live in many different neighborhoods and still have a comfortable commute.”

Soylent will occupy the fifth and sixth floor in the building, which is located at 207 S. Broadway Street. Ben Stapleton, an SVP at JLL who represented Soylent in the lease transaction, completed an extensive market analysis before settling on the Downtown market as the company's new home. Soylent formerly was based in a home in North Hollywood, but outgrew the space. CBRE represented the landlord, Broadway Civic Center LP.

Although the downtown market still has a relatively high office vacancy rate, office users are slowly filling in the gaps, especially in the more creative and tech friendly spaces. Earlier this year, the Downtown Center Business Improvement District launched a program to attract creative office users to the market, and the program has not doubt been helpful in initiating interest from potential tenants.