CBRE Group Inc., the largest commercial real estate broker operating in Orange County, has itself upgraded its local operations and moved into a new office space at The Boardwalk, a nine-floor and 105,754-square-foot building in Irvine.
The new CBRE office space is 52,749 square feet in size, occupies almost the entire sixth floor across two buildings and is home to more than 400 employees. The split office space is connected by an outdoor bridge that has chairs and tables. CBRE vacated its previous office at 3501 Jamboree in Newport Beach, which is about two miles away.
The Business Journal was given a tour of the office space, which is part of CBREโs Workplace 360 program. That program highlights in-office technological advances and collaboratives spaces designed for hybrid working.
Those working at CBREโs Irvine office arenโt assigned to a specific desk but can complete their tasks at a variety of workstations or private rooms. One of the conference rooms features wallpaper showing a satellite view of metro Los Angeles, Orange County, the Inland Empire and the Palm Desert area. Another conference room has a high-tech, concaved television for video conferencing.
There is also a โliving roomโ space with a couch and view of South Orange County. The living room could be used for collaborative meetings, video conferencing or to watch a sporting event that airs during office hours.
CBRE, which first used Workplace 360 at its downtown Los Angeles location more than 10 years ago, now uses the collaborative model in 100 such offices around the world, including Irvine.
โCBRE continues to set an industry-leading standard for workplace design with an environment that attracts employees and clients into the office,โ said Kurt Strasmann,ย executive managing director of CBREโs Orange County and Inland Empire offices. โOur new Workplace 360 office will serve as a showpiece to help clients conceptualize flexible work strategies for their employees.โ
Other features include huddle rooms, an open-space lobby and a large 86-inch media display with speaker system to welcome employees, clients and visitors.
Artwork curated artists, such as Pierce Meehan, Caryn Owen, Shannon Howard and Shawna Urban, are featured throughout the new CBRE office, which is located at 18575 Jamboree Road, Suite 600 in Irvine.
The national commercial real estate firm first opened an Orange County office in 1961. Its current Orange County practice focuses on investment properties, property and project management, valuations, appraisals, debt and equity financing, financial consulting and healthcare services.
CBRE is Orange Countyโs largest commercial real estate brokerage by the value of its leases and sales, which were $7.6 billion in 2023.
The firm also has offices in downtown Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, Glendale, Ontario, Santa Fe Springs, South Bay, Ventura and Woodland Hills.
An Amenity-Rich Building
Trammell Crow, a commercial real estate developer thatโs also a wholly owned subsidiary of CBRE, developed The Boardwalk, which includes tenants such as Rutan & Tucker LLP, Pathway Capital Management, Greenberg Traurig LLP and Shopoff Realty Investments.
The Boardwalk, which opened in 2017, features several amenities including a fitness center, outdoor workspaces, concierge, barbecue area with fire pits, food court, restaurant, car charging stations, bridgeways and terraces and access to two major freeways.
The Trammell Crow Orange County team also occupies a portion of CBREโs office at The Boardwalk.
CBREโs Property Management team itself manages The Boardwalk. CBRE is also the third largest commercial property manager in Orange County, reporting it managed 17.2 million square feet in 2023 in Orange County.
The building was designed by Gensler, with CBRE handling the leasing. CBRE and JLL also manage subleasing for The Boardwalk.