The City of Santa Monica is now codifying into zoning their Bergamont Area Plan.  As part of that new zoning, the City will be tasked with defining what constitutes “creative office”  as opposed to “business or professional office”.  The zoning will determine who can and cannot locate in a building that is “creative offices.”  Some firms may find it unnerving that they are not considered “creative.”  The purpose of the zoning is described as maintaining the clustering of firms involved in creative endeavors.  We have an office property that will be impacted by this new zoning.  As a result, we offered our own definition to the City.

Allowed Uses:  Creative Offices shall include offices for any and all firms involved in the Creative Industries of art, architecture, advertising, design, fashion, research, entertainment, media, technology including but not limited to:

Rendering of Tishman’s Creative Offices to be Built in Playa Vista

Compare to the Exterior of Penn Station, a warehouse PMI converted in Santa Monica

Creative office was once considered a fad or niche business.  Now it  is mainstream.  Creative office in Los Angeles was once the purview of small developers.  Now it is in the cross hairs of every major office investor and developer in Los Angeles:  Kilroy, Hudson, Lincoln, Legacy, Tishman,

One advantage of converting a warehouse was that you  could not replicate the aesthetics very easily into a newly constructed office building.  So in some sense, the renovated warehouse had superior bones than a newly built multistory office building.

Many of these developers are now creating creative office parks fraught with common area amenities from parks, dog walks, volley ball courts, fire pits, etc.  In the tradition of new office construction, these builders are use to focusing on creating a great common area experience while the aesthetics of the suite is just an empty shell, distinguished only by its window line and views and left to the discretion of the tenant.

In the original creative office, we focused more on creating a great authentic industrial experience within the suite.  Tishman now is going to try to create that same authentic experience of a converted warehouse in a newly constructed creative office building in Playa Vista.  Tishman boasts that the new buidings will have the same features as aconverted warehouses with ceiling as high as 24 feet (and maybe bow-trusses).  See the article below.

Developer to build five office buildings in Playa Vista – latimes.com.

There are definitely conflicting studies about the rising popularity of transit. The  US Census results indicate that drivers continue to drive alone to work.  .

More Commuters Self-Driven, Census Finds – WSJ.com.

Here is some evidence that the Expo Line may be working.  One study finds that after the light-railed opened, Angelenos who lived within a half-mile of a station tripled their ridership and reduced their daily driving by 40% (see study below).

I had a second experience.  I parked in Culver City and took a relative to a show at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  On the way,  my relative declared that he does not take public transit and prefers to drive.  However, as a Laker fan, I have learned he now regularly parks in Culver City and takes the light rail to the Staples Center.  He even continued to do so after he once boarded the Blue Line on the way home by mistake.

At this point, most people I know use the light rail to ride and park in Culver City and take the Expo to the Staples Center.

Residents living near Expo Line stations reduce car use, study shows.

This blog from A Bisnow interview of josh Goldfarb of multihousing Adivors, SHOWS THE DESIRE OF A CREATIVE LOOK IN HOUSING BY MILLENNIALS.  A CREATIVE LOOK IN HOUSING  IS NO LONGER CONFINED TO ONLY UNITS WITH A MEZZANINE LOFT. “LOFT’ HAS BECOME CODE FOR EXPOSED BUILDING ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP THE CORE COMPONENTS OF CREATIVE SPACE.  SOFT LOFTS ARE EXPOSING ELEMENTS IN NON-INDUSTRIAL TYPE BUILDINGS WITHOUT HIGH CEILINGS. SOME OF THESE SAME CREATIVE FEATURES CAN BE USED TO GIVE A LOFT LOOK TO EXISTING TRADITIONAL APARTMENTS.

FROM BISNOW:

“In the Southeast, like the rest of the country, development is hottest in infill locations surrounded by complementary uses like retail and office (meaning there’s no mad rush to the ‘burbs). Josh has noticed developers catering to two key demographics: Millennials and retirees. Millennials’ more efficient use of space means smaller units and supercharged amenities like all-over WiFi and a clubhouse for socializing. The older crowd agrees on amenities but may lean more traditional within the unit, Josh says, preferring more formal rooms (versus a loft space, above) that reflect how they grew up.”

Evan Stone and Jack Dorsey of Twiitter on the Roof of PMI’s 539 Bryant building circa 2009. 

Can be a creative office or a creative apartment

The young workers who are attracted to creative office will also be attracted to the same design features in their apartments.  The same principals that make creative office popular in the work environment will also make creative multifamily popular in the housing environment. Exposing structural elements, creating indoor outdoor space, and raising ceilings will make otherwise boring apartments cool.   In Los Angeles, many are already attracted to loft living in Downtown, Venice, and Marina Del Rey.  Adding some  of the features in creative offices to the typical apartment units that predominate Los Angeles can turn boring and tired spaces into more interesting creative spaces.  Los Angeles apartments consists of popcorn or drywall ceilings and laminate and or carpeted floors.  Adding creative space elements will instill a different vibe.  The new features may include wood or concrete ceilings, glass roll up doors, brick or writable walls, and polished concrete floors.  Creative office and creative apartments will merge into a creative space movement.  The space will be useable for both live and work, (an apartfice).  Several start-ups have rented one apartment unit for the office and others for living and working in the same complex. These small start-ups use the space interchanageably–living, working, or both as needed.  Cool space is cool space.

Open offices have become very popular. However, conversations or telephone calls can disturb open office users. Many open office users resort to headsets to create a quiet zone. The headphone market has exploded. Headphones and listening to white music can help the problem of noise interruption in an open office plan. Perhaps, headphones that are not complete noise cancelling are better since communication is still possible without needing the person to remove the headphones.  The open office plan allows for greater collaboration and density.  Headphones are the defacto  method that open space users use to deal with noise.  It may  be useful to tie the headsets into the phone system so workers can take calls on their headsets.   The headphones will become an integral tool in the open office plans and will be specifically designed for this use.  Do I see a joint venture between Dr. Dre and Herman Miller?