Office Absorption Rate Sets Fast Pace in 2-Month Period

Office leasing activity in the Los Angeles area continued strong in September and October, with 2,704,314 square feet absorbed, according to Howard Sadowsky, senior vice president and manager of the Los Angeles office of Julien J. Studley Inc., New York.

“The total amount of available office space appears to be leveling off at about 24 million square feet,” he said. “Space offered in new buildings actually decreased by 1 million square feet from the July/August 1985 peak of just over 16 million square feet.”

More than 10.2 million square feet of space was leased during the first 10 months of this year, exceeding the highest yearly total ever recorded, 9.4 million square feet leased in 1983, Sadowsky said.

Major transactions during September/October include: Travelers Insurance committing to 45,000 square feet in the Burbank/Glendale area; New World Pictures leasing 55,000 square feet in the Westwood/West Los Angeles area, and American Resource Co. leasing 60,000 square feet in the Los Angeles International Airport area.

In addition, California Federal Savings committed to leasing 5700 Wilshire Boulevard, a 500,000-square-foot building in the Mid-Wilshire/Miracle Mile area. This transaction accounts for almost one-third of the total space leased in the two-month period, Sadowsky said.