In another development in the city’s struggling office rental market, longtime tenant PricewaterhouseCoopers has agreed to relocate its Los Angeles offices to Century City.
London-based PwC is one of the world’s largest accounting and professional services firms, perhaps best known publicly as the official voter for the annual Academy Awards in Hollywood.
Its logo is widely visible atop a 52-story tower on Figueroa Street in the city’s financial district, but PwC’s lease there expires in 2028 and the company has agreed to move that year to a premier building in Century City.
The company has been in the city since the late 1990s and leased its current office space on Figueroa Street in 2013.
Staff were notified Monday of the pending change to 2121 Avenue of the Stars. The red granite and glass building overlooking the Fox Studio Lot was formerly called Fox Plaza, but may be better known to movie fans as the legendary Nakatomi Plaza, where Bruce Willis fought terrorists in “Die Hard.” Ronald Reagan kept offices in the 34-story tower after his administration.
“This move is about growth, connectivity, and the future of our Los Angeles business,” Office Managing Partner Andy Sofield said in a statement to The Times. “PwC has continued to grow in markets, and the new Century City office provides us with additional space in an environment that better supports our people, clients, and teams across the region.
“Century City offers strong access to customers, our people, transportation, and airport access,” Sofield said. “It is a return to the location where PwC had an office more than two decades ago. We analyzed many options and decided that Century City was the right fit for our future.”
PwC did not disclose details of Century City’s lease, but a person familiar with the deals who was not authorized to speak publicly said the services company signed a 15-year lease worth about $200 million to occupy the 150,000-square-foot facility. The company’s downtown office at 601 S. Figueroa St. it’s a tiny 114,000 square feet, according to real estate data provider CoStar.
“Our business has grown, our population has grown, and this move gives us the opportunity to create a work environment that supports our teams, our customers and the continued development of our business in the region,” he said.
The company declined to elaborate on its reasons for leaving the city, but the move marks the latest high-profile exit from the city’s financial core.
Many large companies have downsized their offices or stopped moving to the city, including Deloitte and KPMG. Financial services firm Wedbush Securities has moved from a prominent financial district office tower to Pasadena.
The move also reflects the changing nature of the city’s financial district since the COVID-related shutdown. Thousands of office workers have left, and will likely never return in pre-pandemic numbers. Many shops and restaurants remain closed and office tenants say the streets feel safer than before.
Downtown has suffered from an overabundance of office space since the building boom of the 1980s and early 1990s. The lack of rent-paying tenants has made it difficult for offices to operate since the epidemic began. About 40% of office space in the financial district was available at the end of last year, according to CBRE. Overall city vacancies increased from 14% in 2019 to 34%.
“We’re sorry to see PwC go and we believe that LA city officials need to do more to retain major office tenants downtown, the economic center of the region,” said Nick Griffin, senior vice president of regional business development for the DTLA Alliance.
One trip does not exceed the city’s momentum, which includes the expansion of residential areas and nightlife, entertainment and tourism, he said. “The historical arc of Downtown LA is one of change and opportunity.”
Meanwhile, Century City has emerged as one of the area’s most sought-after office markets in recent years, said real estate agent Gary Weiss of LA Realty Partners. More than 90% of the existing offices are leased at the highest rents in the city, he said.
“If you look at how many companies have moved in the last three years from downtown to Century City, I’m not surprised” by PwC’s decision, Weiss said. The neighborhood near Beverly Hills with offices, housing and a large shopping mall “has great amenities in a very safe area.”
PcW’s new landlord in Century City is the Irvine Co. “We are proud to deepen our relationship with PwC as they establish their new presence at 2121 Avenue of the Stars,” said Roger DeWames, president of Irvine Company Office Properties.
