Developers remain optimistic about the continued strength of OC’s commercial real estate market, based on the number of projects expected to move ahead in 2020.
Here’s a snapshot of some notable office projects to keep an eye on here next year:
• Strong leasing at Irvine Co.’s high-end Spectrum Terrace office project—the first 350,000-square-foot phase was largely leased up by October—has led to an acceleration of plans for a 340,000-square-foot second phase. Tenant interest is already lined up, according to the developer.
• A few miles away, OC’s dominant landlord has one of its more unique office developments in the early stage of work: Innovation Park at Irvine Spectrum, which Irvine Co. calls OC’s “first contemporary large-scale amenitized low-rise office campus.”
• San Francisco-based SteelWave and Dallas-based Invesco Real Estate are expected to make more progress this year with their long-awaited redevelopment of the former Los Angeles Times printing facility in Costa Mesa into The Press, a nearly 430,000-square-foot creative office campus, which will feature a 40,000-square-foot food hall from Shaheen Sadeghi’s Lab Holding LLC. A 2020 opening for a portion of the site is possible, company officials have previously stated.
• Though not currently under construction, a deal is likely to emerge for the second phase of Tustin’s Flight. The developer of the project, Lincoln Property Co., delivered the first 470,000-square-foot phase last year, and is in discussions to build the second phase for a large single-tenant. It could accommodate nearly an additional 500,000 square feet of office space.
PREDICTION:
As strong demand from the e-commerce sector outpaces Orange County’s limited supply and drives record rents, more infill industrial redevelopment projects are likely. Expect more leasing deals to come from Amazon, too.
