Tulsa, Okla.-based Matrix Service Co. has paid $4 million,$16 a square foot,for a 5.6-acre parcel in Orange in a move brokers say sets a new standard for industrial land sales in Orange County.
“Actually, there were multiple offers at $16,” said Jeff Chiate, senior director for Cushman & Wakefield Inc.’s Irvine office. “It’s a mature market with very few lots.”
Matrix, which provides maintenance, construction services and products to the petroleum industry, bought the land at 500 W. Collins Ave. from a Newport Beach-based family trust. Matrix has a tank maintenance, repair and fabrication facility in Anaheim and intends to build a regional office, manufacturing facility and storage yard on the Orange parcel, Chiate said.
At 80,000 square feet, the Orange facility stands to double Matrix’s OC operation. The company counts 60 employees in Anaheim and plans to boost that to 100 in the move to Orange. Matrix plans to break ground within two months and finish in the first quarter.
Chiate and Mark McAdams, also of Cushman & Wakefield’s Irvine office, represented the seller. Randy Coe of Colliers Seeley International Inc.’s Anaheim office represented Matrix.
The Matrix industrial sale could soon be topped, though, according to one industry source. Several parties are near an agreement on industrial land in Anaheim at $18 per square foot, the source said.
The activity shows how the North County industrial market remains tight, with users willing to pay a premium for large sites. Sources say speculative builders have stepped back from the bidding, because the cost to acquire industrial land in some cases is an unprofitable proposition.
The news comes amid the release of second-quarter industrial market figures. According to a report by Voit Commercial Brokerage, industrial availability remains stable at 6.59%, compared to 6.52% during the same period last year.
Pent-up demand for industrial space has driven rents up 15% since the second quarter of 2000, according to Voit. n
