Although the global pandemic has kept employees away for much of the past 18 months, the Los Angeles office market has weathered the storm better than most major U.S. cities.  As tenants gradually return to work, Atlas Capital Group has announced more than 40,000 square feet in new leases over the past year at ROW DTLA, the cavernous mixed-use campus which sits between Skid Row and the Arts District.

Aerial view of ROW DTLA looking west toward the Downtown skylineROW DTLA

New tenants at the property include:

  • advertising agency Stink Studios (3,500 sf);
  • marketing firm Slicedbread (2,600 sf);
  • apparel company Shein (2,600 sf);
  • handbag resaler Fashionphile (7,000 sf); and
  • an undisclosed company taking 13,500 square feet of space.

Tech company Miro, an existing tenant, also signed a new deal which triples its footprint from 7,000 square feet to 21,000 square feet.

Things to read from the past week:

Rendering of Geoff Palmer's under-construction Ferrante development in DowntownG.H. Palmer Associates

Landlord sues L.A. for $100 million, saying anti-eviction law caused ‘astronomical’ losses "Palmer’s companies allege that the moratorium — first put in place by Mayor Eric Garcetti as an emergency order, then approved as an ordinance by the City Council — violated the 'takings clause' established in the 5th Amendment, which says private property shall not be taken for public use without 'just compensation.'" (LA Times)

Beverly/Bonner gathering space gets more boos from residents "Plans are to transform the small city parking lot at the corner of Beverly Blvd. and Bonner Drive into a tiny public park featuring a distinct shell-like structure meant for people to relax and recreate in.   But where city planners envision a vibrant gathering space, residents of the nearby neighborhoods see merely a perfect spot for the homeless to sleep or camp out in. " (Wehoville)

She transformed her Mid-City backyard into the nation’s first public Persian tea garden “'L.A. needs a Persian paradise garden,' Vaziri said. 'We have a huge population of exiled Iranian Americans, and to create a garden that feels like home would mean the world to this community. Our culture is so much deeper than the ‘Shahs of Sunset’ — we’re known for our hospitality, food, poetry and art — but with sanctions placed on travel, it’s really difficult for foreigners to ever experience.'” (LA Times)

Conceptual rendering of a station on the California High Speed Rail systemKilograph

‘Amtrak Joe’ Wants Electric Bullet Trains for California "If things go well, California’s could host trains running at 200-plus miles per hour in four or five years on the route stretching from Bakersfield to Merced, with connections or continuing service on to Oakland, Sacramento, and San Jose. At that point, shovels should be turning and concrete pouring on the entire route between L.A. and San Francisco." (Streetsblog California)

LA Councilmembers Are Pushing for an LA Electric Vehicle 'Master Plan' "Their motion came days before the U.S. Senate passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that includes $7.5 billion for electric vehicle charging stations and $73 billion to upgrade the nation's electricity grid." (dot LA)

Nick Andert’s Latest Video Predicts Funding and Scheduling For Metro Transit Build-Out Spoiler alert: "The bottom line is that Andert anticipates that the projects most likely to receive funding in the near term include: West Santa Ana Branch rail (phase 1), Sepulveda Transit (phase 1), Inglewood People Mover, Amtrak Surfliner electrification (from San Luis Obispo to L.A. to San Diego) and straightening/tunneling (in/near San Diego), and California high-speed rail in the Central Valley. Also fairly likely would be: the Centinela Grade Separation on the Crenshaw Line, the Gold Line extension to Montclair, and LINK Union Station run-through tracks (phase B)." (Streetsblog LA)

Also, watch Nick's video here

Exterior model view of the Jidth and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center @ Inglewood, interior concert configuration. Photo courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP.

Column: From bank to Burger King to handsome Frank Gehry-designed concert hall "Welcome to the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center in downtown Inglewood, where the outside is all 1960s branch bank but the inside is a dynamic, daylight-saturated community music center — the first permanent space for the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. The low-key reconfiguration comes courtesy of Frank Gehry and a team of designers at Gehry Partners in collaboration with the Los Angeles-based Chait & Company, which served as the executive architect firm on the project." (LA Times)

CicLAvia returns this Sunday in Wilmington! "CicLAvia returns this Sunday with 2.25 miles of vehicle-free streets in Wilmington for your cycling, walking and rolling pleasure. This is the first CicLAvia since Feb. 2020 — just weeks before the pandemic shut so many good things down." (The Source)