Coworking Firms Spaces Signs 69,000 SF Lease at J.P. Morgan's Water Garden in Santa Monica

This is Spaces first co-working location in the Santa Monica Media District

Los Angeles – CBRE and J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced coworking firm Spaces signed a new 69,208 square-foot lease at Water Garden in Santa Monica, CA.

CBRE’s Daniel Rainer represented Spaces in the transaction. CBRE’s Amanda Calof, Patti Gilbert and Pat McRoskey represented the landlord. Managed and leased by CBRE, Water Garden is owned by institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

The creative office campus sits within the Silicon Beach area and recently underwent an extensive, multi-million-dollar transformation. Water Garden’s 17 acres of indoor and exterior space have been re-imagined with a landscaped river walk, outdoor communal space for meetings, concerts, movie screenings and events, Zen gardens, fire pits, games, alfresco dining and an array of amenities including restaurants and cafes, retail, banking, child care, and a state-of-the-art fitness club.

“Water Garden is one of the premier assets in Los Angeles,” said Rainer. “The thriving green campus is a perfect fit for Spaces. This is their first co-working location in the Santa Monica Media District, a submarket featuring one of the densest tenant rosters of top tech, media and production companies.”

This is Spaces’ 8th lease in the area, bringing the company’s total footprint in the region to 323,000 square feet, including in such markets as Hollywood, Santa Monica and Downtown LA.

“The greater Los Angeles market continues to be an area of expansion for Spaces,” said Michael Berretta, Vice President of Network Development for IWG, which owns Spaces. “CBRE continues to be a valued partner for us and this site allows us to seamlessly create an environment that encourages community and innovation.”

Los Angeles is the second-largest coworking market in the country with a total of 4.1 million square feet of flexible space in the 222 million square feet of office market, according to CBRE research. Local coworking inventory jumped by 50% over the past 24 months.

Evolving Trends in Agile Real Estate

According to CBRE’s 2018 Americas Occupier Survey, more than 70 percent of companies surveyed anticipate using coworking as a strategic solution for flexibility in the next three years.

“The world and the way in which we do business is evolving rapidly, which puts flexible space at the forefront of many companies’ minds,” said Rainer. “In order to stay ahead of the game, companies need to maximize their flexibility. While the idea of using flexible space originally came from tech start-ups, today the concept has broadened tremendously as bigger players are also looking to be more agile.”