A new six-story building and adjacent two-story facility are coming soon to host Taiwanese-based Advantech.
Advantech North America, a supplier of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, will be breaking ground next month on a 110,000-square-foot, six-story office tower and a 79,000-square-foot, two-story industrial concrete tilt-up building. The two buildings are set on 10 acres at the corner of Red Hill Avenue and Victory Loop on the side of the former marine helicopter base. An indoor amphitheater is also planned.
โWhen was the last six-story office built in Orange County?โ said Brad Kollar, executive vice president of Industrial and Strategic Markets for Uprite Construction Corp. and prime contractor on the job.
Kollar declined to reveal the price tag; the Business Journal estimates the Tustin facilities will cost about $75 million.
Growth in IOT
Advantech, which dates to 1981, calls itself a global leader in the field of IoT systems. The company, which ranks No. 17 in the top 50 Global Automation Vendors, reported almost $2 billion in sales last year and has an $8.5 billion market cap (2395.TW).
Advantechโs offices have been spread out in Orange County, said Kollar, who is expecting grading permits in the coming weeks. The project, which could be completed by next June, will employ around 400 or so, Kollar estimated.
Irvine-based Uprite Construction has built several buildings for notable clients ranging from Tesla to Amazon to the Irvine Co. Since its founding in 1991, itโs completed more than 1,170 projects.
โThis is one of the most high-profile construction projects in Orange County in the last 15 years, and we are honored to lead it,โ Uprite President Jonathan Bagnall wrote on his LinkedIn page.
The project was designed by Herdman Architecture + Design, which was founded in 2011 by Bridget Herdman and is based in Corona del Mar.
The construction manager is Zatu Design Build Architects, a Santa Ana-based firm that specializes in construction management and design-build architecture. Alex Tu, who has 25 years of experience in design and construction, started Zatu in 2021.
STEM Training
Advantech has more than 1,000 product lines, serving medical equipment builders, industrial equipment builders, as well as networking, health and telecom companies, with the product array becoming more diversified as the company moves into more industrial Internet of Things areas.
It works with partners across a diverse range of market sectors to provide edge-to-cloud solutions for a wide array of applicationsโdriving smart cities, smart factories and the advancement of industrial and commercial IoT.
Advantech, which currently operates its U.S. operations out of a roughly 27,000-square-foot building in the Spectrum area of Irvine, was reported to have about 150 employees in Irvine in 2020, when it told the Business Journal it was planning a big boost to its local operations and had begun searching out options for a larger base in the area.
The buildings are part of Tustin Legacyโs Advanced Technology & Education Park (ATEP), an education-focused business park that began work in 2017 and is run by the South Orange County Community College District.
ATEP is on approximately 61 acres on Red Hill Avenue on the northwestern edge of the 1,606-acre former Marine Corps Air Station. The school district took ownership of the land through a deal with the city of Tustin after the former helicopter base closed in 1999.
Between 1.1 million and 1.7 million square feet of space could be built on the education campus, depending on product type.
Advantechโs campus would be the largest development for the park to date.
Advantech will occupy the buildings under a 75-year ground lease deal that will see the company pay some $760,000 a year in rent at the start of the deal. Advantech has the option to buy out the ground lease for more than $24 million about a decade from now and intends to do so, according to its brokers.
For the six-story headquarters office building, floors three through six are to be utilized for a 74,396-square-foot R&D area for computers and related components, according to district filings.
In addition, Advantech โwill be required to provide educational opportunities and support to the District and its students and staff, including the provision of direct educational support to ATEPโs science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs, sponsorship of non-STEM college events and scholarships; and shared use of facilities and equipment; as well as support of District students through career coaching as well as paid internships and direct job placements,โ filings indicated.
The additional two-story, 78,837-square-foot warehouse facility at the site will be used for storage, light manufacturing, repairing and packaging of non-hazardous industrial computer-related products.
Advantech has previously said it intends to move into its new headquarters in late 2025.
