Accomplished Joint Venture Partners Set New Standard for Creative Space with a Classic Office Building Born Anew
El Segundo, Calif. (February 16, 2018) – Joint venture partners Embarcadero Capital Partners and Westbrook Partners announced today that they have completed the much-anticipated transformation of 777 Aviation, located at 777 South Aviation Boulevard in El Segundo, into an amenity-rich, tech-oriented, 318,182 square foot multi-tenant workplace. The partnership also announced that they recently signed a long-term lease with Quest Nutrition for 43,728 square feet bringing the building’s occupancy rate to 62%.
Originally designed by famed Los Angeles modernist architect Craig Ellwood and built in 1968, 777 Aviation is an iconic 3-story Class A steel and glass structure. Embarcadero Capital Partners and Westbrook Partners acquired the property in 2015 and engaged renowned architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) to assist them in realizing their vision for transforming the building and expansive grounds into a thriving campus designed to meet the needs of dynamic tech and creative firms.
The team’s thoughtful conversion celebrates Ellwood’s distinctive design aesthetic and capitalizes on the building’s efficient 109,000 square foot floor plates, maximizing the opportunity to offer tenants the largest, most open, contiguous and flexible workspaces in the market. Blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, the design incorporates a soaring new atrium with circular skylights that flood the interior with daylight and illuminate the surrounding office space. The skylights disperse light across a new 40-foot wide stadium seating feature designed to accommodate small and large group assemblies. Four unique indoor/outdoor conference rooms have been added to tenant spaces on the upper levels of the building.
In repositioning the campus, Embarcadero Capital Partners and Westbrook Partners invested in high-quality building amenities and comprehensive core and shell improvements, including an on-site café, a fitness facility with locker room and showers, Wi-Fi enabled common areas, a dramatic new front entrance, upgraded glazing, and all new building infrastructure (elevators, restrooms, data/telecom service, and mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems).
Central to their vision was activating the entire site by transforming the grounds into a vibrant hub of work and recreation spaces. Embarcadero Capital Partners and Westbrook Partners brought in LRM Landscape Architecture to energize the campus with collaborative spaces, fire pits, a dog park, bike sharing facilities, and food truck stations. Integrated into the landscape design are four existing historically significant sculptures created by famed artist George Sugarman in 1969. Entitled “Yellow to White to Blue to Black,” the highly-regarded work exemplifies Sugarman’s pioneering use of shaped steel.
“We are beyond thrilled to complete the transformation of this amazing property to which so many talented people contributed,” said John Hamilton, Co-Founder and Principal of Embarcadero Capital Partners. “I am so proud of our team for their creativity and commitment to quality in delivering this exceptional office environment to the market, and we thank Bob Safai of Madison Partners for presenting this investment opportunity to us.”
Quest Nutrition is expected to move into their new headquarters at 777 Aviation in June 2018. The fast-growing company was founded with the goal of revolutionizing food, making healthy eating fun, and ultimately ending metabolic disease. 777 Aviation will enable Quest Nutrition to meet their growth goals and create a workspace aligned with their brand and mission.
777 Aviation offers tenants a strategic business address in the heart of El Segundo’s new creative office district located within walking distance of plentiful dining and retail amenities. The property offers unparalleled access to LAX as well as the 105 and 405 freeways, and is readily accessible from Manhattan Beach, Playa Vista, and other Westside communities.
About Embarcadero Capital Partners
Embarcadero Capital Partners is a private real estate investment, management, and development firm based on the San Francisco Peninsula. The firm invests in dynamic, development-constrained U.S. markets that are known for intellectual capital and a creative business culture. Additional information about Embarcadero Capital Partners is available at www.embarcaderocapitalpartners.com.
About Westbrook Partners
Founded in April 1994, Westbrook Partners, is a privately-owned, fully integrated global real estate investment management company with offices in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Palm Beach, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Munich, Paris and Tokyo. Westbrook’s professionals are responsible for acquisitions, value enhancement, financial accounting, and risk management. Their experience includes office, multi-family, residential, hotel, retail, industrial and single-family residential development properties, and have been among the world’s most active and successful investors, having raised and invested more than $14 billion of equity in over $50 billion of real estate transactions in major markets throughout the world. Westbrook Partners recently completed fund raising for Westbrook Real Estate Fund X, with $2.85 billion of capital commitments. www.westbrookpartners.com
