If you read this week’s Los Angeles Business Journal (LABJ), you will note the “Real Estate Quarterly” focuses on a bright spot within our local economy, technology, and it positive impact on commercial office space. It’s nice to have some good news! Santa Monica has been compared to Silcon Valley with the influx and growth within the tech sector. Recent large leases include Riot Games (2400 Broadway) for 88,000 SF, eHarmony (2400 Broadway) for 60,000 SF, Hooky Interactive (2415 Michigan) for 10,500, Beachmint for 14,000 SF (1411 5th Street) and Google in Venice for 100,000 SF (340 Main). Additionally, the area is home to Yahoo, Demand Media, Edmunds.com, Cornerstone OnDemand, Vevo and Activision Blizzard. Of all the office space submarkets tracked in greater Los Angelesin this week’s LABJ, Santa Monica has the only single digit vacancy of 9.6% compared to the average vacancy rate across all of L.A. at 16.5%. Perhaps Santa Monica has finally ditched its nickname “People’s Republic of Santa Monica” for it’s new nickname, “Silicon Beach”.
