Tenants Already Touring Herald Examiner

LOS ANGELES—The Herald Examiner Building is already scheduling tenant tours, according to Carl Muhlstein, managing director at JLL and the lead leasing broker for the project. In an earlier story, GlobeSt.com reported that a joint venture between the Georgetown Co. and Hearst Corp. plan to renovate the historic 1914 building into a creative office space. Although the property won't be ready until 2017, tenants are already showing interest.

“Tenant tours are starting as we firm up the construction schedule and delivery dates for late 2017,” Muhlstein tells GlobeSt.com. “Initial inquiries for the office space relate to ecommerce especially fashion-related firms and fashion headquarters, architectural firms and adult re-education centers. For the ground floor space, we have gotten interest from retailers, including restaurants—fast casual and white tablecloth—major art galleries and fashion boutiques.”

The property is located in the burgeoning South Park district of Downtown Los Angeles, which has seen a tremendous amount of development from all product types. As a result, many office tenants are looking to plant roots in the neighborhood. “The timely leasing opportunity will offer fully modernized interiors rebuilt to new creative standards,” adds Muhlstein. “High ceilings, retail amenities and 100-year old authentic finishes will adorn the project while a strong development team will ensure quality throughout.”

Earlier this year, the DCBID launched an effort to attract more creative office tenants to the submarket and the highlight the creative office construction underway. The efforts are paying off as several office tenants—both creative and traditional—are moving to downtown. An example of the migration, the Bloc, another adaptive reuse project with an office component, recently signed three new office leases, bringing its office occupancy to 60% months before its opening date.