A pair of mid-century office buildings on Pacific Coast Highway in El Segundo is poised for a makeover.

"Traveling south on PCH, showing the northwest views of Building A and Building B."
ShubinDonaldson

The roughly 200,000-square-foot complex, located at 650-700 Pacific Coast Highway, was purchased by estate investment firm Vella Group in 2019 for the reported sum of $50.8 million.  Aerospace giant Boeing occupied both buildings until the end of 2020.

Vella Group's plans, according to an initial study published by the City of El Segundo, call for redeveloping a surface parking lot at the rear of the 7.3-acre property with a new seven-story, 122,000-square-foot building featuring nearly 71,000 square feet of office space and an attached 1,185-car parking garage.

ShubinDonaldson is designing the building, which is depicted as a contemporary glass-clad structure which features tiered building heights that create a series of cascading terrace decks.  Plans also call for the construction of a landscaped amenity deck at the foot of the new building, providing a central gathering space for tenants of the property.

View of new building and main courtyard looking northeast from PCH
ShubinDonaldson

Vella also plans to renovate the existing structures facing Pacific Coast Highway to have a similar glass exterior, while also redistributing square footage across the property.  Building A - an-eight story, 131-foot-tall building completed in 1962 - would be expanded by just over 1,000 square feet, adding a new double-height lobby and other structural retrofits.  Building B - a two-story edifice - would see its occupiable space shrink slightly to accommodate a new elevator shaft and skylights.

Construction of the project is expected to occur in a single 16-month phase, according to the initial study, beginning in October 2021 and concluding by February 2023.

El Segundo, long a hub for the aerospace industry in Southern California, has more recently evolved into a more diverse office market, as companies based in submarket such as Venice and Santa Monica migrate south in search or less costly accommodations.

Site plan for 650-700 PCH
ShubinDonaldson

Several large office developments are now in the planning stages or under construction nearby, including Hackman Capital Group's renovation of a former Northrop Grumman facility at 888 Douglas Street, which will soon serve as the new headquarters of Beyond Meat.

The developer of 650-700 PCH, Vella Group, is based out of New York, but has an active portfolio of projects in Los Angeles County, including a new Hawthorne campus which is slated to become the headquarters of smart doorbell maker Ring, a Bjarke Ingels-designed tower complex planned in the Arts District, and an apartment proposed at the site of Barney's Beanery in West Hollywood.