Zurich North America is about to be the newest insurance company joining an industry hot spot in downtown Los Angles.
The firm, a unit of Swiss insurance giant Zurich Financial Services Ltd., signed a 10-year lease for about 44,000 square feet at MPG Office Trust’s 777 S. Figueroa St. tower. The insurance firm is vacating nearly 50,000 square feet at another MPG building, 801 N. Brand Ave. in Glendale.
Zurich will occupy a little more than two floors when it moves in late this summer, raising the building’s occupancy to 79 percent. It will join another insurance giant, American International Group Inc., in the building. Aon Corp., Marsh McLennan Cos. and Mercer Insurance Group Inc. occupy offices nearby.
“It shows how attractive downtown can be,” said Rachael Zanetos, an internal leasing manager for MPG who represented the landlord. “Its proximity to L.A. Live is a big (draw) for 777 too.”
Financial details were not released, and Zanetos would not discuss negotiations. But sources close to the deal said that MPG approached Zurich about relocating last year, and the insurer agreed because of downtown’s superior mass transit system and a desire to be part of the area’s insurance hub.
Zanetos also would not say why MPG sought to move Zurich from one building it owned to another, but outside sources speculated that it stemmed from the landlord’s desire to beef up the occupancy rate of its core downtown portfolio.
MPG is downtown’s biggest Class A office landlord, with the US Bank Tower, the Gas Co. Tower and the Wells Fargo Tower in its portfolio. However, the REIT has been financially struggling and has been selling non-core assets to pay down debts that totaled $3.7 billion in December. Last month, it sold the Westin Pasadena Hotel for $92 million.
Josh Wrobel, an MPG vice president, assisted Zanetos in the deal. Zurich was represented by Nathan Piehl, senior vice president at the Los Angeles office of UGL Services, a Chicago real estate management and services company.
Transforming Downtown
Director Michael Bay’s Institute for Enhanced Perceptual Development also is moving downtown.
The oddly named commercial-production company has vacated its Venice home for the Pershing Square Building, 448 S. Hill St. The company left its Venice headquarters last week to occupy a 10,000-square-foot office in the 16-story building.
The terms of the deal with landlord JMF Development LLC of Los Angeles were not released.
While Bay is best known as the director of blockbuster action movies such as “Transformers,” he and producing partner Scott Gardenhour founded Enhanced Perceptual Development in 2001 to produce advertising, branded entertainment and other content. Among its clients has been brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos. and Limited Brands’ Victoria’s Secret apparel chain.
Mark Tarczynski, executive vice president in Colliers International’s downtown office, said that to have a creative firm relocate downtown is a positive sign.
“Downtown has always been looked at as an inhospitable place that is just good for lawyers and bankers. With the influx of user-friendly services like Ralphs and all the rest, all of a sudden it’s become a much more user-friendly place and is much more vibrant and happening than it ever has been,” he said.
Jeffrey Fish, managing member of JMF Development, could not be reached for comment. Neither Bay nor Gardenhour were made available for comment by the production company.
Women in Real Estate
Commercial real estate attorney Trudi Lesser used to be a rarity in her chosen industry.
“When I started practicing 25 years ago, there weren’t that many women in the profession. When I went to my first big financing event, out of 5,000 people, there were only 100 women,” said Lesser, who now runs her own firm.
Lesser also is president-elect of the L.A. chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women, a national organization that supports women in the industry. And in that capacity she is honoring six other women who helped break down industry gender barriers at a July 22 awards dinner at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.
“It’s very exciting,” said honoree Liz Braman, senior vice president of commercial lending at Skyline Financial. “I’ve been working with CREW for a number of years and am thrilled that they chose me.”
Also being honored are Williams & Associates founder Norma J. Williams; US Bank commercial real estate Senior Vice President Linda Morgan; Urban Land Institute Executive Director Katherine Perez; Pircher, Nichols & Meeks Associate Leslie Reed; and Buchalter Nemer, P.C. Associate Nicole Sahagen. To RSVP by June 21, visit crewla.org/programs.html.
Staff reporter Jacquelyn Ryan can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 228.
