L.A. ranks as world’s 4th most expensive city, Flood of evictions looms, and more

The game of musical chairs in Downtown L.A. office buildings continues.

This week, Brookfield Properties announced that law firm Mayer Brown has signed a new 11-year lease for a 55,000-square-foot office space on two floors of the Wells Fargo Center on Bunker Hill. Designed by Aref & Assocaites, the new space includes a two-story atrium and an indoor-outdoor terrace.

That news comes just one week after Silverstein Properties announced five leases totaling 72,000 square feet of space at the U.S. Bank Tower a few blocks away. New tenants include:

• civil engineering firm Walter P. Moore, which will relocate from 707 Wilshire Boulevard in Summer 2023 to a 9,364-square-foot space on the 72nd floor;
• investment bank Lincoln International, which expanded its footprint in the U.S. Bank Tower through a 10-year, 27,117-square-foot lease on the 66th and 67th floors;
• investment bank Rothschild & Co, which moved from the 67th floor to a new  8,544-square-foot space on the 50th floor;
• personal injury law firm Morgan & Morgan, which will open its first Los Angeles office in a 7,612-square-foot space on the 22nd floor; and
• an unspecified management firm, which will relocate from Century City to a 19,208-square-foot space on the 69th and 70th floors over a 12-year lease.

Here’s what we’re reading this week:

Sweetgreen Moved Out, Ye Moved In. This LA Landlord Isn’t Extending the Deal. “When salad chain Sweetgreen vacated part of its hip L.A. headquarters earlier this year, a landlord suddenly found himself having to fill a significant chunk of space in an office market facing weakening demand….Los Angeles landlord The Luzzatto Co. found a willing taker in rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who wanted to use the space for his fashion operation Yeezy….But the landlord will not be extending the agreement once it expires at the end of the year, Luzzatto President Asher Luzzatto told CoStar News. Luzzatto said he asked Ye to leave the space in L.A.’s West Adams neighborhood once the rapper’s deal to occupy the office wraps up, a decision that comes after weeks of mounting public condemnation of the celebrity for making antisemitic remarks.” (CoStar)

New L.A. County Data Shows That Homeless ‘Sweeps’ Rarely Lead To Permanent Housing ‘Since 2019 more than 30,000 unhoused residents, like La Donna, have been “enrolled” in the CARE outreach program according to LAHSA’s data. That’s roughly ten thousand fewer people than the total number of unhoused residents currently living in the City of Los Angeles.…Less than 10 percent of those 30,000 “enrollees” moved into a temporary housing facility.…And fewer than one percent (or 63 people) moved into a place categorized as “permanent supportive housing,” according to LAHSA’s data.’ (LA Taco)

‘Flood of evictions’ looms in Los Angeles as pandemic tenant protections expire “The expiration of pandemic-era tenant protections and emergency housing will likely be devastating for low-income families in the country’s largest county, where at least 69,000 people are already experiencing homelessness, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s latest count.” (NPR)

Singapore and New York are the most expensive cities to live in, EIU says “Los Angeles rose from ninth place in 2021 to fourth this year.” (CNBC)

New Report Says Nearly Half Of LA’s Airbnb, Vrbo Listings May Be Breaking The Law “Three years ago, the city of Los Angeles began enforcing a new law aimed at regulating short-term rentals on platforms such as Airbnb. But a new study suggests enforcement has been weak, and law-breaking is becoming more common.” (LAist)

Eyes on the Street: New Bike Lanes on Avenue 19 and First Street “There are a couple of new bikeways in central Los Angeles: on First Street in downtown L.A.’s Little Tokyo/Arts District and Boyle Heights, and on Avenue 19 in Lincoln Heights and Cypress Park.” (Streetsblog LA)

L.A. street vendors sue city over right to sell in prohibited zones “Alvarado is one of about 85 vendors she knows who sell within 500 feet of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where a 1.3-mile stretch teeming with potential customers is off-limits….The other zones where street vending is prohibited within 500 feet are Dodger Stadium, Hollywood Bowl, LA Live and the Convention Center, the Los Angeles Coliseum and Exposition Park, Olvera Street, Universal City/Universal Studios and Venice Beach. The city’s stated reason was that street vending could worsen congestion.” (LA Times)

Metro and LADOT are working on implementing bus priority lanes throughout Los Angeles New La Brea bus priority lanes are joined by an extension of Alvarado Street’s bus lanes and new lanes on Venice Boulevard (The Source)