No games.After nearly a yearlong search for a new location, video game giant Activision Inc. has decided to stay put in Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. . Activision renewed its 125,000-square-foot lease in the Santa Monica Business Park at 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but the 44-month lease is valued at about $17.1 million for the building's owner, Equity Office Properties Trust Equity Office Properties Trust, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, is the largest owner of office buildings in the United States. It was formed in 1976 by Samuel Zell [1] and in February 2007, was acquired by the Blackstone Group for $23 billion plus the assumption of . "We explored the entire Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, market and ultimately determined that Activision's current location was still the right place for the company," said Peter Best, a managing partner at Jones Lang LaSalle Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) is a major real estate and money management services firm headquartered in the Aon Center in Chicago, Illinois and the only company in its industry making it into Fortune magazine's list of the 100 Best Places to Work in the U.S. , in a statement. "This location provides Activision's employees convenience, ample amenities and the overall creative environment they were seeking." Activision's decision to stay in Santa Monica comes at a tough time for the video game maker and distributor. The entire video game sector has been in the doldrums doldrums (dŏl`drəmz) or equatorial belt of calms, area around the earth centered slightly north of the equator between the two belts of trade winds. for the past year, and Activision's stock is still slowly rebounding from 52-week lows. The deal is a win for Equity Office, which owns roughly 40 percent of Santa Monica's 7.8 million-square-foot office market. In addition to the Santa Monica Business Park, Equity Office owns premiere office buildings ranging from Santa Monica's ocean-side downtown to Yahoo Center on the city's eastern border. The heavy investment in Santa Monica is paying off too. Asking rents in Santa Monica spiked recently to nearly $4 a foot and average vacancy rates have dropped to 6.3 percent, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Grubb & Ellis Co. Staff reporter Andy Fixmer can be reached by phone at (323) 549-5225, ext. 263, or by email at afixmer@labusinessjournal.com. |
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