Beyond Meat — one of the most prominent plant-based food companies in the U.S. — has signed a 12-year lease with Hackman Capital Partners for 280,000 square feet of space at 888 N. Douglas St. in El Segundo, Calif. According to SEC filings, the lease is valued at more than $178 million, making it one of the largest deals signed in the Los Angeles market since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Gary Horwitz, Blake Searles, Connor Hall and Kamil Agha of JLL represented the tenant, while CBRE’s Jeff Pion and Newmark represented the landlord.
The new tenant began its operations in 2009 in El Segundo before going public 10 years later. Since then, Beyond Meat has made a name for itself as a prime producer within the meat substitutes market. The company decided to move its headquarters to the new location because its previous lease at 119 Standard St. could no longer accommodate its growing staff. Besides plant-based product development, the company also plans to use the new location as a research facility for utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The property at 888 N. Douglas St. boasts a total of 390,000 square feet of El Segundo office space for rent, as well as 50-foot ceilings and a certain industrial look that is especially popular with tech and creative companies. Currently, the building is undergoing redevelopment based off of a Gensler-designed project, for which Cumming is the project manager and KPRS Construction serves as general contractor. The makeover — valued at more than $100 million — has been ongoing since 2017 and is expected to be delivered this spring.
Located just south of the Los Angeles International Airport and formerly known for its ties to California’s aeronautics industry, El Segundo has made efforts in the past decade to diversify its economy and become a cost-effective alternative to Silicon Beach. Other significant deals closed recently include media firm Prodege’s move to another El Segundo office at 2030 E. Maple Ave., and Tishman Speyer’s financing of a newly renovated creative office at 555 Aviantion Blvd.
