It's Downtown LA's Turn to Shine. Here's Why.

Playa is getting full. Santa Monica prices are outrageous. So what's the next hot spot? Some have argued Hollywood (we can't disagree), with its massive projects from the likes of Kilroy and Bob Champion. But if you ask Tishman Speyer senior managing director John Miller, it's actually Downtown.

John says Downtown is the next place to go for creative office in LA, with its abundance of adaptive reuse opportunities. The statement says a lot, as Tishman doesn't actually have anything in the market. Here's John with Clarion Partners SVP Khalid Rashid, Allen Matkins partner Peter Roth and PMI Properties partner Jeff Palmer at Bisnow's Office Evolution event last week.

And while some question amenities in places like Playa and El Segundo, that's certainly not an issue in Downtown. Case in point: the $200M Bloc from Raktovich Co. The massive reno planned for Macy's Plaza includes 750k SF of office, in addition to 400k SF of retail and commercial space. Another phase calls for an overhaul of the old Sheraton Hotel on the site.

And institutional money has already started picking up properties. Earlier this year, Essex paid Wood Partners $200M for 8th+Hope, a 22-story, 290-unit luxury glass high-rise. The complex is one of the first post-recession residential towers to be built and listed for sale. The property opened last summer and has some pretty sexy amenities, including a 10k SF rooftop deck and club room with retractable glass walls that lead to an outdoor social/dining area, spa, fire pit and garden retreat. 

So we've covered where to live, where to eat and where to work. But don't think this has happened overnight. Cushman & Wakefield managing director of research Petra Durnin recently gave Bisnow some data on the market. She says over the past 15 years, DTLA has seen $20B in new investment and 22,150 new multifamily units have been added. In the past five years alone, Petra says 1.5M SF of office tenants moved or relocated into Downtown from other markets.