Another Irvine commercial building has been sold for redevelopment,only this time it’s likely to be for office space, not homes or condominiums.
The Orange County office of Houston-based developer Hines Interests LP just closed on a deal to buy a 6.25-acre site at 18582 Teller Ave., according to Douglas Holte, director of OC and San Diego operations for Hines.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Cisco-Linksys LLC, a unit of Cisco Systems Inc., rents the 120,300-square-foot industrial building at the site, which is owned by Connecticut General Life Insurance Co., according to CoStar Group Inc.
The lease for Linksys, a maker of home networking routers and other gear, runs through early 2008. The Cisco-Linksys unit also has 50,000 square feet of space at University Research Park in Irvine.
Redevelopment plans for the Linksys property are still in the early stage, Holte said. Unlike much of the residential construction plans in the works around John Wayne Airport, Hines is considering “office-dominant” redevelopment, he said.
There are more than 40 housing projects totaling about 15,000 homes planned for the area near the airport, long known for its offices, plants and warehouses.
Redevelopment of the Linksys property, which is next to the headquarters of St. John Knits International Inc., would be the latest change in the area around Jamboree.
The property is across the street from the sprawling campus of drug-maker Allergan Inc., which has frowned on residential redevelopment in the commercial area.
On the west side of the Linksys property is a 7.5-acre industrial site that once housed a medical device unit of Tyco International Ltd.
Preliminary plans for that site call for a mix of 220 condominiums, including two 14-story residential towers, along with 190,000 square feet of offices, and 55,145 square feet of shops.
The Linksys deal is the second foray into the OC market for Hines, a global developer known for skyscrapers and other big commercial developments.
Its other local deal is the construction of one of OC’s first new office towers in recent years.
Hines and Fort Worth, Texas-based development partner Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. just finished putting up the steel for a 12-story, 265,000-square-foot office building at 2211 Michelson Drive.
David Whitney, senior vice president for the Newport Beach-based office of Lee & Associates, represented Hines in the Linksys deal. Steve Schloemer, in the Irvine office of Colliers International Inc., represented the seller.
