Office
Office construction activity flourished throughout 2000, with the completion of more than 4 million square feet of office space. Low-rise projects dominated the development activity, the majority of which were located in South Orange County. During the fourth quarter, 19 buildings totaling 1,256,725 square feet wrapped up construction. One building was finished at the Brea Corporate Park in North Orange County, and another was completed at the Alton Corporate Center in the Airport Area. The remainder added to the market in the fourth quarter were concentrated in South Orange County, including the Discovery Business Center, Mission Ridge, Pacific Vista, Palm Terrace and the new Verizon buildings. Construction activity continues into the New Year as 543,225 square feet broke ground in the fourth quarter, bringing the total amount of space under construction to 3.9 million square feet.
Industrial
The Orange County industrial market wrapped up a strong year of construction activity with the completion of 486,838 square feet in the fourth quarter, pushing the total construction finished during 2000 to more than 2.2 million square feet. South Orange County was the hub of all research and development construction for the year, which totaled 149,203 square feet. Manufacturing and warehouse development accounted for the majority of the annual construction activity, with 42% of the M & W; building occurring in North Orange County and another 40% in South Orange County. Construction activity remained strong as the year came to a close. Nine new buildings broke ground during the fourth quarter, adding 261,775 square feet to the projects in development throughout the county. Nearly half of this new activity is M & W; construction in Fullerton. The other half is in West Orange County, including the Woodwind Commerce Park, an R & D; project in Huntington Beach, and one M & W; building in Westminster.
Retail
The retail market in Orange County grew by a total of 1,323,435 square feet during 2000, with the completion of seven new shopping centers. The Oaktree Village Center, a 150,000-square-foot neighborhood center in Irvine, was completed during the fourth quarter. Two new centers broke ground in the final quarter in South Orange County, adding 230,000 square feet to the construction activity. A second phase to the Foothill Ranch Towne Center, a community center, broke ground in October. Down the road in Lake Forest, the Foothill Gateway plaza, an 80,000-square-foot specialty center, started construction in November. Including these two centers, a total of 1,555,000 square feet of retail space were under construction in Orange County at the end of the year, with another 2.2 million square feet in the planning pipeline.
