Santa Monica design firm DLR Group is moving its regional California office to downtown Los Angeles.

Late last month, the firm signed a lease for 35,400 square feet at the Bloc, owned by downtown developer Ratkovich Co. It will occupy the 22nd floor and some of the 23rd at the 737,700-square-foot Class A office at 700 S. Flower St., part of a block-long mixed-use complex. The building is still being renovated but is 86 percent leased.

DLR’s 11-year lease is valued at $18 million.

“Our company is a national and international company and a Los Angeles address is important to us now,” said Adrian Cohen, a senior principal at DLR.

The lease will consolidate the firm’s Santa Monica headquarters and Pasadena office. Downtown Los Angeles made sense as a middle point for staff relocating from those places, Cohen said, especially because of its proximity to public transportation. The Bloc is adjacent to the Seventh Street Metro Center rail hub.

Cohen said the firm, which employs 125 people, will grow to 135 or 140 by the time it moves to the Bloc in about a year. The extra 5,400 square feet will allow the head count to reach 150.

The firm will design its own space as a showroom for clients.

Darren Eades, Mike McKeever and Jordan Gaffney of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. represented DLR in the deal. John Zanetos and Christopher Penrose of CBRE Group Inc. represented Ratkovich.