Hulu Growing Into 351K SF At Boston Properties Santa Monica Complex
Santa Monica's office market received another bit of good news from Boston Properties' announcement that a leading entertainment company signed a 351K SF, seven-year lease at the Colorado Center.
Boston Properties declined to disclose the name of the company, but CoStar reports the tenant is Hulu.
Hulu has been a tenant at the six-building, 1.14M SF Colorado Center since 2012 and has expanded there over the years. Prior to this latest deal, the streaming company occupied 262K SF at the office campus, and its lease was scheduled to expire later this year, public filings show. Representatives for Hulu did not respond to a request for comment.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, entertainment and media companies have bolstered the office market as they grow in an attempt to keep up with the rising demand for new content.
"We are delighted to provide a contemporary and inspiring workplace environment, enabling this company to attract and retain their creative workforce and delight their audiences with compelling digital entertainment," Boston Properties Senior Vice President Jonathan Lange said in a statement.
The Colorado Center was the subject of a $40M renovation in 2019, adding features that included multiple new dining options in a food hall, a nearly 30K SF gym with tennis courts, and a new public outdoor space, the LA Business Journal reported. The property is within walking distance of the Metro E Line light rail and offers 3,100 parking spaces.
Santa Monica's office market has been active this spring. In April, Roku signed a 72K SF lease at Colorado Center, leaving behind space at the Water Garden complex across the street, L.A. Biz reported. Last week, Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, expanded its headquarters at Boston Properties' Santa Monica Business Park.
There have been big vacancies in the market too: Activision Blizzard moved out of the Santa Monica Business Park in March, leaving behind 215K SF.
Santa Monica's Q1 2021 vacancy rate was 18.4%, a Westside-specific report from Cushman & Wakefield found. That's roughly on par with the overall vacancy rate of 18.9% for greater LA during the same quarter but above the 16.2% average for LA's Westside overall, according to a separate report from Cushman & Wakefield.
