‘Virtual human’ Army contractor will move to Playa Vista

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USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies has agreed to move to new offices in Playa Vista, a developer said today. The cutting-edge research institute is under contract with the Army to develop ‘virtual humans’ for training exercise.

‘We are leaders in an international effort to develop virtual humans who think and behave like real people,’ the institute said on its website. ‘We create tools and immersive environments to experientially transport participants to other places.’

The institute will expand from about 60,000 square feet in a Marina del Rey office building into 72,000 square feet at the nearby Campus at Playa Vista. ICT will take one of four buildings in the first phase of the $1.2-billion office complex expected to be completed by the end of the year, developer Tishman Speyer said. ICT plans to move in May.

Terms of the 10-year lease were not disclosed, but Tishman Speyer is asking for monthly rent of $4.25 per square foot, according to real estate data provider CoStar. Technology company Belkin International agreed last year to rent two of the four buildings in the first phase of the campus.

--Roger Vincent