LOS ANGELES—CoreTrust is planning a major revitalization at CitiGroup Center in Downtown Los Angeles. In an earlier story, GlobeSt.com reported that the firm purchased the dated office campus in the heart of the Downtown central business district for a reported $336 million. The circa-1981 property is due for a face-lift, but CoreTrust has a bigger vision to transform the center into a modern hub in the city that will benefit both tenants and passersby, all with a $50 million price tag.
CoreTrust is going to start by using its renovation of City National Plaza as a template. The firm purchased that property in 2003, when downtown was a gamble. “That was when everyone said that life in Downtown Los Angeles was on Bunker Hill. We moved all of these tenants down here. We were playing with large blocks of space, and we could move people in turn key. Tenants didn't have to work through a rebuild of the space,” John Sischo, a principal at CoreTrust, tells GlobeSt.com. “Now, we have to look at how to make our space attractive as a home, because we are all mobile and we can anywhere we want to be. That is why there is a big play on open spaces, communal spaces and lighting. That is all designed to compete with home spaces. I have the ability in this building to create an attractive floor plates and outdoor amenities.”
CoreTrust is going to renovate all of the common areas in the building, activate the outdoor terraces and have a design plan that incentivizes people to come to work. However, the firm is following the trends—especially when it comes to its tenant pool. While the rest of Downtown Los Angeles is trying to attract tech and media tenants, CoreTrust wants traditional tenants that can appreciate the space and see it as an amenity. “Our tenants are ones that are going to be seeking the type of space that we are going to be building. That could intersect with tech, but it isn't focused on tech,” says Sischo. “For example, we have a firm that we have worked with that is located in Pasadena, and they are concerned that they are not going to be able to recruit the kind individuals that they want. So, they are going to put a satellite office in L.A. We are going to create a space for that kind of tenant.”
This isn't a problem for a firm that has been a long-time player in the market and has seen it change and grow. “The city is becoming more of a place where people want to live and work, and I have seen that transition,” says Sischo. “The challenge was always to bring a Westside tenant downtown, and we brought Gensler here. People move to where they want to be, and this is where people want to be.”
LOS ANGELES—CoreTrust is planning a major revitalization at
CoreTrust is going to start by using its renovation of City National Plaza as a template. The firm purchased that property in 2003, when downtown was a gamble. “That was when everyone said that life in Downtown Los Angeles was on Bunker Hill. We moved all of these tenants down here. We were playing with large blocks of space, and we could move people in turn key. Tenants didn't have to work through a rebuild of the space,” John Sischo, a principal at CoreTrust, tells GlobeSt.com. “Now, we have to look at how to make our space attractive as a home, because we are all mobile and we can anywhere we want to be. That is why there is a big play on open spaces, communal spaces and lighting. That is all designed to compete with home spaces. I have the ability in this building to create an attractive floor plates and outdoor amenities.”
CoreTrust is going to renovate all of the common areas in the building, activate the outdoor terraces and have a design plan that incentivizes people to come to work. However, the firm is following the trends—especially when it comes to its tenant pool. While the rest of Downtown Los Angeles is trying to attract tech and media tenants, CoreTrust wants traditional tenants that can appreciate the space and see it as an amenity. “Our tenants are ones that are going to be seeking the type of space that we are going to be building. That could intersect with tech, but it isn't focused on tech,” says Sischo. “For example, we have a firm that we have worked with that is located in Pasadena, and they are concerned that they are not going to be able to recruit the kind individuals that they want. So, they are going to put a satellite office in L.A. We are going to create a space for that kind of tenant.”
This isn't a problem for a firm that has been a long-time player in the market and has seen it change and grow. “The city is becoming more of a place where people want to live and work, and I have seen that transition,” says Sischo. “The challenge was always to bring a Westside tenant downtown, and we brought Gensler here. People move to where they want to be, and this is where people want to be.”
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