A fast-growing startup is expanding in Southern California’s aerospace corridor, choosing to ferry employees across multiple buildings in El Segundo rather than relocate to a single consolidated campus.
Varda Space Industries has leased more than 205,000 square feet at the 9-acre industrial and office campus at 2031 E. Mariposa Ave. in El Segundo, according to CBRE, which represented both landlord GPI Cos. and the tenant in the deal.
“This move gives our teams increased capacity and infrastructure to scale production, accelerate mission cadence, and continue delivering for our customers,” Varda Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Barr said in a statement.
The expansion highlights the growing pull of Los Angeles’ South Bay aerospace cluster, where venture-backed startups are increasingly filling real estate alongside legacy defense contractors and aerospace giants as the region reasserts itself as a hub for space technology.
Founded in 2020, Varda develops in-space manufacturing systems designed to produce high-value materials in orbit and return them to Earth. Its growth has been fueled by contracts with pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. military.
The Mariposa Avenue campus — built in the 1940s as an aircraft manufacturing facility — adds office, research and development and manufacturing space for spacecraft and reentry capsules, giving the company a multisite campus near its other El Segundo properties.
Aerospace cluster growth
Varda already leases two other properties along Aviation Boulevard, including a 60,000-square-foot office building at 225 S. Aviation, and operates a nearby site at 888 Douglas St. for biopharmaceutical development tied to its orbital manufacturing technology.
The company plans to link the sites with branded shuttle buses that will ferry employees among buildings as the firm continues to grow operations.
The Mariposa Avenue property has long been tied to the region’s aerospace and defense industry but most recently served as a research and development center for multinational toy and entertainment company Mattel.
Mattel relocated its studio operations — where employees design toys — to a 167,767-square-foot office property at 2160 E. Grand Ave. in 2024, purchasing the building for $59 million from New York Life Insurance.
Varda, backed by roughly $329 million in venture capital, has been steadily expanding in the South Bay and also maintains offices in Washington, D.C., and Huntsville, Alabama.
El Segundo is attracting aerospace and technology firms for its proximity to Los Angeles International Airport and longtime industry tenants such as Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Raytheon and the U.S. Air Force base.
The deal also reflects improving fundamentals in the industrial market. According to CoStar data, industrial tenants in El Segundo and the surrounding Beach Cities moved into 47,000 more square feet than they vacated in the past year. Vacancy stands at 2.9%, slightly above the five-year average of 2.5% and the 10-year average of 2.7%, as space technology, government contracting and defense firms continue clustering near the region’s engineering talent base.
For the record
CBRE's Bob Healey represented the landlord and CBRE's Cameron Merrill represented the tenant in the deal.