CAA to Anchor New Century City Tower

By DANNY KING

Staff Reporter

Creative Artists Agency has signed a lease for 180,000 square feet at the proposed 2000 Avenue of the Stars project in Century City, according to a source familiar with the deal.

The agency will be moving from its custom-built Beverly Hills headquarters to the $280 million project being developed by Trammell Crow Co. for owner JP Morgan Chase & Co. at the site of the ABC Entertainment Center.

The lease at the 790,000-square-foot office, retail and entertainment project is for 15 years, said the source, who would not disclose its value. With fourth quarter Century City rents averaging $3.18 a foot, the deal could be worth more than $100 million. It marks the largest Century City lease since Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. agreed to take 334,000 square feet at Constellation Place (now MGM Tower) in 2000.

The talks between CAA, which counts superstars Tom Cruise and Madonna among its many clients, and Trammell Crow were first reported by the Business Journal in November 2003.

At the time, a source familiar with the negotiations said one holdup had been the disposition of CAA’s I.M. Pei-designed 65,000-square-foot building at 9830 Wilshire Blvd., which the source said was owned by a partnership that included departed agency co-founder Michael Ovitz and current CAA executives.

Calls seeking comment from officials at Trammell Crow and CAA were not returned.