Defense technology firm Anduril Industries has inked another lease in Orange County, taking nearly 163,000 square feet of warehouse space at the newly built Harbor Logistics Center in Santa Ana, sources told the Business Journal.
The August deal, marking one of OC’s largest industrial deals this year, underscores the company’s deepening presence here, where its local real estate holdings are more than 1.25 million square feet. Much of the space it’s been snapping up is near its Costa Mesa headquarters.
The lease is the defense company’s seventh such deal in Orange County since early 2024; the site is expected to support distribution, manufacturing or R&D operations.
The lease deal was completed in August, a few months after developers Kearny Real Estate Co. and Dune Real Estate Partners finished work on Harbor Logistics Center at 3100 S. Harbor Blvd. in Santa Ana.
It’s unclear what the Palmer Luckey co-founded company will do at Harbor Logistics Center. The firm, did not return a request for comment.
Committed to Orange County
The lease deal is another sign that Anduril is committed to Orange County, despite having plans to invest $1 billion to build a 5-million-square-foot factory in Ohio. In June, Anduril raised $2.5 billion for its latest funding round that valued the company at $30.5 billion.
Steve Wagner, a broker specializing in Orange County’s industrial sector for JLL, told the Business Journal this lease is Anduril’s seventh such deal in Orange County since January 2024. Those seven leases account for about 760,000 square feet of space, according to Wagner.
Harbor Logistics Center, located a mile north of Anduril’s headquarters, replaces a large two-building office campus that existed at the site and was completed in February, about nine months after the 200,000-square-foot facility was demolished.
Los Angeles-based Kearny Real Estate bought the 9.6-acre property for $35 million in 2018 and recapitalized the project with New York-based Dune Real Estate for $49 million in 2023.
The new industrial building features 36-foot clear heights, 17 dock-high doors, an 185-foot-deep truck court, rooftop solar panels, 7,000 square feet of office space and tenant parking spaces with electric vehicle charging spaces.
Leasing was managed by CBRE’s Orange County team of Ben Seybold, Sean Ward, Keith Greer and Josh Samuels.
In April, the Business Journal reported that Anduril is leasing a large chunk of local warehouse space less than a mile from its Costa Mesa headquarters.
OC’s Industrial Market: ‘Survive 2025’
Wagner said Anduril’s lease at Harbor Logistics Center could open the floodgates for the eight new industrial buildings recently constructed in Orange County’s Airport Area.
Anduril is the first company to lease space at those newly constructed buildings.
“I see it as a positive,” Wagner said, noting that the deal could spark other major companies to sign leases in the area. “It’s a big-name company making a major investment in Orange County.”
Matt Moore, executive vice president at Stream Realty Partners’ Orange County office, said industrial demand is rising but the overall market is anything but steady.
“Aerospace has been the strongest industrial segment in OC over the past 18 months. While it is encouraging for OC and is one of the largest new leases in Orange County in 2025, there are still multiple brand-new buildings in the Airport Area that have been completed and have been sitting vacant for over a year,” Moore told the Business Journal.
Moore said there are multiple projects under construction in North Orange County, Irvine Spectrum and South County.
“By the end of 2025, there will be nearly 20 brand-new buildings in Orange County between 100k and 250k that have been delivered without tenants. Many of these buildings and their owners will face significant challenges to lease their buildings,” Moore said. “Many of these developers purchased land at record high pricing and today’s market rents don’t support a positive return on investment.”
He added many industrial landlords in Orange County are using the phrase, “survive 2025.”
“The majority believes that 2026 will be a better year for commercial real estate in Orange County,” Moore said.
CBRE declined to comment on details of the lease, but Ward was optimistic about what the deal meant for Orange County’s industrial market.
“This transaction highlights a key trend in the industrial real estate market. While demand for new buildings may be lower than existing supply, top-tier design and execution still drive leasing success,” Ward told the Business Journal in an email. “Kearny/Dune delivered an exceptional property in every respect, which is why it was leased just four months after construction wrapped.”
