Sound Ventures and Discovery Land Co. take former Hilton & Hyland space in separate leases
In Beverly Hills’ Golden Triangle, where prestige still counts even in a shaky office market, two high-profile tenants have struck separate deals at one “best-in-class” building.
Sound Ventures and Discovery Land Co. leased a combined 18,000 square feet at the Standard Oil Building at 257 N. Canon Drive, dividing the second floor into a 9,000‑square‑foot office for Sound Ventures and a 9,000‑square‑foot showroom for Discovery Land, which already occupied space in the building. Luxury real estate firm Hilton & Hyland previously occupied the full floor.
“This deal shows that best-in-class buildings in Beverly Hills are still winning, even in a cautious office market,” Brandon Cohan, the founder and CEO of Brandon Cohan Real Estate, told CoStar News. “Tenants want space that feels special, and this building offers a combination of design and location that’s hard to match.” Cohan represented the landlord in the lease negotiations.
The glitzy enclave has turned a corner after pandemic woes, with office vacancy compressing from 18.6% in mid-2024 to about 13.8% today as move-ins outpace move-outs and no new supply comes on line, according to CoStar data.
Asking rents average about $67 per square foot, among the highest in Los Angeles, but with roughly 1.6 million square feet still available, landlords are expected to see only modest growth through 2028.
Marc Bohbot’s Standard Oil Investment Group developed the Standard Oil Building in 2018 on the site of a former Standard Oil gas station. The glass property features 20-foot floor-to-ceiling windows, private balconies and a transparent architectural design meant to stand out in the low-rise neighborhood.
The property is currently 85% occupied, according to CoStar data.
Ground-floor tenants include Mediterranean eatery Novikov, where a tomahawk steak runs $241, and a Gaggenau, Bosch and Thermador flagship showroom, where ovens average $20,000. An 8,000-square-foot rooftop restaurant space with views of the Hollywood Hills is vacant.
Sound Ventures is a media tech and investment firm co-founded by actor Ashton Kutcher and music agent Guy Oseary. It invests in early-stage technology, software and sustainability-driven companies.
Discovery Land Co. develops luxury residential communities and resorts across the United States and abroad, and is known for privacy-driven, lifestyle-focused projects.
The Los Angeles office market remains under pressure from hybrid work trends and shrinking entertainment and tech players. Vacancy is at 16.1%, nearly 200 basis points above the national average, even as 2025 marked its best absorption year since 2018, CoStar data shows. Activity is increasingly concentrated in a handful of buildings and neighborhoods, notably Beverly Hills, where tenants moved into more space than they vacated in the past year.
For the record
Brandon Cohan Real Estate’s Brandon Zarrabi also represented the landlord in the lease negotiations. Newmark’s Carly Geller and Jay Luchs represented Sound Ventures, while Cushman & Wakefield’s David Toomey represented the Discovery Land Co.