One California Plaza, a Bunker Hill high-rise that has spent the last few years in the penalty box, has quietly scored a full-floor lease with national law firm Gordon Rees. The roughly 26,000-square-foot deal is a rare vote of confidence for the distressed tower, and the firm is expected to move in late 2026, a timeline that could finally put some life back into the building’s mostly empty corridors.
The Real Deal first reported that Gordon Rees is taking the entire floor and that Citigroup renewed its tenancy in the property. According to The Real Deal, Trigild’s Chris Neilson confirmed the full-floor lease. The tower landed in receivership after Rising Realty Partners and DigitalBridge defaulted on about $300 million in commercial mortgage-backed securities debt, an outcome detailed by the Los Angeles Times.
Market snapshot
The lease is a small but noticeable win for a building whose value and occupancy have taken a beating. Reporting based on Morningstar and CoStar data put One California Plaza’s appraisal at around 120 to 121 million dollars and showed tenancy well below underwriting levels, according to Morningstar. Market figures from CBRE show Greater Los Angeles’ office market was still soft at year-end 2025, with downtown vacancy materially higher than in submarkets such as Century City. That gap is fueling a flight to quality that favors amenitized Westside properties and leaves older downtown towers more exposed to lender pressure.
How the deal came together
The court-appointed receiver kept Rising Realty Partners in place as property manager and brought in JLL to market the remaining space. Brokerage sources say JLL offered concessions to secure Gordon Rees. As reported by The Real Deal, JLL’s Tim Miller declined to reveal lease pricing but acknowledged that concessions were made to entice the tenant. Brokers note that full-floor moves by law firms are among the few deal types large enough to meaningfully repair cash flow at buildings of this size.
Legal snapshot
Trigild was appointed after lenders flagged missed payments on the loan, giving the receiver authority to operate the property and pursue leases on behalf of bondholders while the court oversees the process. A judge’s appointment and the background on the default were laid out by the Los Angeles Times. How long Trigild holds the asset, and whether a sale, conversion or structured workout comes next, will hinge on court timetables and bondholder strategy.
For downtown Los Angeles, the Gordon Rees lease is a welcome proof point but not a cure-all. It fills a large vacancy block and helps rebuild the rent roll, yet analysts caution that the market will need sustained demand and several similar relocations before valuations move in a meaningful way. Local market data from CBRE underscores just how uneven the recovery remains from one submarket to the next.
