When salad chain Sweetgreen vacated part of its hip L.A. headquarters earlier this year, a landlord suddenly found himself having to fill a significant chunk of space in an office market facing weakening demand.
Los Angeles landlord The Luzzatto Co. found a willing taker in rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who wanted to use the space for his fashion operation Yeezy. The two signed a short-term license agreement for the 57,000-square-foot office at 3101 W. Exposition Blvd., and Ye moved into the space in September and has since filmed at least one video at the property in which he discusses his bid to run for president in 2024.
But the landlord will not be extending the agreement once it expires at the end of the year, Luzzatto President Asher Luzzatto told CoStar News. Luzzatto said he asked Ye to leave the space in L.A.'s West Adams neighborhood once the rapper's deal to occupy the office wraps up, a decision that comes after weeks of mounting public condemnation of the celebrity for making antisemitic remarks.
Luzzatto said the space will become available for lease again after Ye leaves. CoStar News was unable to reach Ye for comment. Terms of the agreement between Luzzatto and Ye were not disclosed.
The 3101 W. Exposition Blvd. building is part of a larger 94,000-square-foot campus that includes a 57,000-square-foot first phase and 36,000-square-foot second phase, both of which were previously occupied by Los Angeles-based salad restaurant chain Sweetgreen and used as the company's corporate headquarters. In March, Sweetgreen put its space up for sublease before consolidating its operations into the property's smaller second phase at 3102 36th St., Luzzatto told CoStar News.
Maude Michel, head of communications of Sweetgreen, told CoStar News in an email that Sweetgreen no longer occupies 3101 Exposition Blvd. and that Ye's business dealings have been with the landlord, not Sweetgreen. Michel said Sweetgreen vacated the property in July. Sweetgreen declined to comment on the Luzzatto-Ye arrangement.
Ye released a video in November that refers to the former Sweetgreen space as "Yeezy HQ." In the video, Ye discusses a recent conversation he had with former President Donald Trump in front of a backdrop that reveals the space as Sweetgreen's former corporate hub.
Similar to other cities across the United States, Los Angeles has had a record amount of direct and sublet office space hit the market as companies reevaluate their real estate needs as remote work becomes more popular. The city had more than 11.3 million square feet sitting on the sublease market as of early December, according to CoStar data, almost 6 million square feet more than what was reported at the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020.
Sweetgreen's former headquarters is in the gentrifying West Adams neighborhood southwest of downtown L.A. near Culver City, an area that has attracted a bevy of entertainment and tech firms in recent years. It's also near the Expo/Crenshaw Metro station and Interstate 10, making it convenient for commuters. Marketing materials for Sweetgreen's space says it is outfitted with lounge areas, a staff kitchen, an outdoor patio, an herb garden and a mobile "work where you want" ethos.