Creative Artists Agency is following up its pending megamerger with one-time rival talent agency ICM Partners with a long-term plan for a new headquarters.
The Los Angeles-based talent firm has signed a deal to move into JMB Realty’s new Century City tower in 2026, according to an announcement on Wednesday. CAA did not disclose how much square footage the firm is planning to take up.
JMB, a Chicago-based investment firm, is developing a 37-story tower at 1950 Avenue of the Stars, which will also include two acres of outdoor space.
The new building is going up across the street from CAA’s current offices at 2000 Avenue of the Stars.
CAA announced it planned to merge with ICM in September. At the time, CAA occupied around 302,000 square feet at the Hines and JPMorgan Chase-owned building.
After the deal was announced, CAA president Richard Lovett told the Hollywood Reporter the companies were “all going to be in one location together as soon as time allows for that to be.”
ICM, whose client roster included Shonda Rhimes, Samuel L. Jackson and Ellen DeGeneres, occupies around 100,000 square feet at 10250 Constellation Boulevard — also a building owned by JMB Realty. It’s unclear whether ICM — soon-to-be CAA — has vacated this space or will wait until 2026.
The deal is a relative bright spot for L.A.’s office market, which has seen high vacancy rates since the start of the pandemic, as firms exited leases and people started to work from home. Almost a quarter of all office space across Los Angeles County was vacant in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Savills.