As the legal cannabis industry grows across the state, companies that provide services to pot retailers, growers, distributors and consumers are gaining traction in some of L.A.’s hottest office markets.
The latest company to make a splash is Ghost Management Group, an Irvine-based technology firm that runs the website weedmaps.com and offers technology services to several cannabis brands.
Ghost Management has signed a lease for a 115,000-square-foot office at the ROW DTLA at 767 S. Alameda St., a prime location in the Arts District. The lease is for the top three floors of the building.
The value of the lease was not disclosed. Average asking rent for downtown during the first quarter of the year was $3.75 a square foot, which would put the value of the lease at more than $5 million a year.
CBRE Group Inc.’s Chris Penrose, Jeff Pion and Michelle Esquivel-Hall represented the landlord in the transaction. Newmark Knight Frank’s Ryan Harding and Mark Gardner represented the tenant.
ROW DTLA has nearly 2 million square feet of space spread across six buildings. It has 65 spots for retail and restaurant operations, and 1.3 million square feet of creative office space.
It’s been a busy time for the Arts District. In April, Warner Music Group’s parent company purchased a former factory in the Arts District for $195 million. Spotify Technology, Honey and WeWork Cos. Inc. have all recently signed leases in the Arts District as well.