Beyond Meat, Inc., a maker of plant-based meat substitutes, is moving its headquarters to a former Northrop Grumman facility now under renovation in El Segundo.

The property, located at 888 N. Douglas Street, is being transformed by Hackman Capital Parnters into roughy 390,000 square feet of offices, with an anticipated completion date in Spring 2021.  Beyond Meat's 12-year, 280,000-square-foot lease will bring the campus to near full occupancy.

The new headquarters, which is to be built in three phases, will include both offices and pilot and research space for the development of Beyond Meat's products.

Multiple published reports point to cosmetics company L'Oreal as another future tenant at 888 Douglas.

More mixed-use in the Arts District?

Greyhound bus passengers may soon get a new arrival and departure point in Los Angeles.

According to multiple published reports, San Francisco-based real estate investment trust Prologis has paid more than $90 million to purchase the more than eight-acre property at 7th and Alameda Streets which has long been home to the long-distance bus terminal.  Although precise plans for the site have not been announced, a statement released by brokers with CBRE indicates that Prologis - which specializes in logistic hubs - intends to entitle the site for a mixed-use project.

The property is located at the southeast corner of an intersection which would be served by a Metro Rail station following the construction of the West Santa Ana Branch light rail line.  Several large developments are already in the works nearby, including a proposed apartment complex slated to replace a parking lot immediately east of the Greyhound hub, and a 475-unit live/work complex from AvalonBay Communities that recently broke ground one block north.

Legacy towers fill out in DTLA

Brookfield Properties has announced a series of new leases at two of its landmark office buildings in Downtown Los Angeles - including two companies which are opening their first locations in the neighborhood.

At EY Plaza, located at the intersection of 7th and Figueroa Streets, Chicago-based general contractor Clune Construction has signed a 16,300 square foot lease to house its expanded Los Angeles regional office.  Additionally, Pillsbury Winthrop - a tenant at EY Plaza since its opening in 1985 - has renewed its lease for 51,000 square feet of space.

At the Wells Fargo Center on Bunker Hill, law firm Reed Smith has renewed its 66,000-square-foot lease at the property's south tower, while Detroit-based Dykema Gossett has likewise renewed its 25,000-square-foot lease in the north tower.  Additionally, GBC International Bank has signed a lease to relocate its headquarters to the property from West Los Angeles.

Other things to read from the past week:

  • Frank Gehry’s bold plan to upgrade the L.A. River seeks to atone for past injustices: "Picture 'elevated platform parks' — massive, bridge-like green spaces that occupy government airspace high above the flood channel’s musty floor, and four feet above the rim of the channel walls. Constructed on hulking concrete planks and enormous girders, the earthen parks would stretch nearly a mile over both rivers and support a lush landscape of trees, grass, scenic ponds, horse trails and walking paths."(LA Times)
  • More cities than ever are protesting RHNA allocation of homes they’ve been told to plan for: "Nearly four dozen local governments are appealing to have their housing numbers reduced in the Regional Housing Needs Assessment process, or RHNA. After two days of hearings, the appeal committee of the Southern California Association of Governments, or SCAG, had granted only one request; hearings continue through Jan. 22." (Daily News)
  • Program to buy hotels for homeless people could get another influx of cash: "Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget, unveiled Friday, includes $750 million to continue Project Homekey. Last year, the program was largely funded with federal coronavirus stimulus money, with the state government and philanthropic partners chipping in $100 million." (LA Times)
  • Senate Considering $10B for Highway Removal: "Shortly before the holiday recess, then-Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and a coalition of 25 Democratic senators introduced a $435 billion economic justice bill called S5065 that included a $10-billion pilot program aimed at helping communities tear down urban highways, and rebuild the surrounding neighborhoods with the needs of underserved communities in mind. The Restoring Neighborhoods and Strengthening Communities Program — known among advocates as the 'Highways to Boulevards' initiative — would only be available for projects located in regions with a high concentration of low income residents or residents of color." (Streetsblog USA)
  • COVID-19 job losses will worsen L.A. homelessness by 2023, new report says: "Based on the effects of the 2008 recession, the Economic Roundtable report 'Locked Out' concludes that pandemic-related unemployment will start a brutal cycle of homelessness. It says the uptick began as a trickle in 2020, but will triple this year and peak by 2023....By then, the number of additional working-age adults with no place of their own to sleep will reach more than 52,000 in Los Angeles County, 131,000 in California and 600,000 across the nation, it said. The most recent federal estimate, for 2019, estimated there were 568,000 homeless people nationally and 129,000 in California. The 2020 count for Los Angeles County put the number at just over 66,000, meaning the projection is for a near doubling." (LA Times)
  • Downtown Los Angeles night 5k: "Aerial footage of Downtown Los Angeles. Featuring: Wilshire Grand Center, U.S. Bank Tower, and Two California Plaza." (Dronalist)
  • Wildfire smoke now causes up to half the fine-particle pollution in Western U.S., study finds: "In the latest study, Stanford and UC San Diego researchers predicted dramatic health impacts if nothing is done to slow climate change by slashing emissions and better managing forests. Within decades, they found, exposure to wildfire smoke alone could increase dramatically to the point of being one of the deadliest climate impacts." (LA Times)
  • L.A. County Seeks Public Input on New L.A. River Plan: "The 2021 plan is an update to the county’s initial L.A. River Master Plan approved in 1996. That plan led to the county opening up fenced-off portions of the river, fostering new parks, walk and bike paths, and greater community access. Cities along the river – including Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Glendale – stepped up efforts to revitalize areas along the river." (Streetsblog LA)
  • Pioneer of the L.A. look: Paul R. Williams wasn’t just ‘architect to the stars,’ he shaped the city: "In the immediate wake of Williams’ death, no glossy books of his work were published, much less a catalogue raisonné. Buildings he designed were torn down; others, remodeled beyond recognition. The work of an architect whose firm was responsible for thousands of structures in Southern California, who was name-checked in real estate ads as “world-famous,” who shaped L.A. through civic roles including a seat on the City Planning Commission — a position he assumed in 1921 at the tender age of 27 — was in danger of fading away....How times have changed." (LA Times)
  • It’s January And Sadly, Wildfires Are Still A Threat: "This year the all-important snowpack — a key supply of water — is only at 48 percent of the average as of January 14. Combined with a paltry showing of snow and rain in Northern California last year, our reservoirs are ticking lower and lower, many beneath their historical averages." (LAist)
  • Federal rent relief is coming. Here’s what to expect in California.: A handy guide to how much money is on the way and who is eligible for relief. (LA Times)