Los Angeles, March 4, 2016 – The A.F. Gilmore Company (the “Company”), founder and owner of The Original Farmers Market, recently finalized a lease valued at approximately $15 million with SPACES at 145 S. Fairfax Avenue (the “Property”) in the Mid-City neighborhood of Los Angeles.
In 2013 the Company purchased the Property, situated on Fairfax Avenue, across the street from The Original Farmers Market and recently finalized a full-scale renovation specifically designed to cater to the area’s burgeoning creative clientele. The anchor of the neighborhood is The Original Farmers Market. Since 1934, the open-air marketplace has been one of Los Angeles’ most recognizable landmarks with nearly 100 merchants including an eclectic blend of restaurants, grocers, specialty food proprietors and retail shops. Additionally, the Property is located just north of the Company’s Gilmore Station featuring Trader Joe’s, Mendocino Farms, as well as other boutique retail amenities.
The Company’s past, present and on-going investment in their properties and surrounding community has been a major driver in the continued success of the Third Street & Fairfax Avenue area. “From the first walk-through of the renovated Property with the A.F. Gilmore Company team, it was immediately apparent that the surrounding area with its seemingly unlimited access to amenities, diverse – yet high-end – housing stock and central location within Los Angeles lent itself perfectly to a co-working operator,” said Patrick Amos
a Vice President at CBRE. “I believe the co-working community agreed, as we received offers from just about every major operator in Los Angeles and ultimately went with SPACES, who we felt would be the best fit for the Property and the surrounding community.”
While vacancy rates have remained essentially flatthrough 2015, large blocks of creative space have seen the most interest, driving rental rates up nearly 20% in the same period.
The 10-year lease at the Property is for approximately 30,000 square feet and is the first lease signed by SPACES in Southern California. SPACES premises will cater to the abundance of creative and entrepreneurial businesses in the area, with the amenities these discerning clients demand; including high-end finishes and a large outdoor patio overlooking the Original Farmers Market campus.
The location provides SPACES and the other Property tenants with a “Very Walkable” rating from Walk Score, allowing tenants to accomplish just about everything on foot. The Property also sits close to The Grove, several high-end residential and multi-family properties, is across the street from CBS Television City, and is a short walk from Los Angeles’ famed Museum Row, featuring LACMA, the newly renovated Petersen Automotive Museum, The Page Museum and The La Brea Tar Pits and the future home of the AMPAS. Additionally, the area will be accessed via the future MTA Purple Line subway station at Wilshire and Fairfax.
The number of co-working spaces in office markets around the country is likely to rise in 2016 as more companies, including Fortune 500 enterprises, are taking space at these types of facilities, according to a January report from CBRE Group, Inc. This is driven by demand from companies small and large – CBRE projects the co-working sector has a five-year compound annual growth rate of 21 percent – attracted to the flexibility of the model and lower costs as average office asking rents have been on the rise nationally, according to CBRE.
CBRE’s Danny Rainer represented SPACES while CBRE’s Rob Waller and Patrick Amos represented the landlord, 145 S. Fairfax, LLC, a subsidiary of the A.F. Gilmore Company
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About CBRE Group, Inc.
CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm (in terms of 2015 revenue). The Company has more than 70,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 400 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CBRE offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.
