Though Not the Hub Planned, Yorba Linda’s Savi Ranch Has Tech Contingent
Yorba Linda’s Savi Ranch industrial park doesn’t have any billion dollar companies calling it home. There are no blockbuster technologies that have come out of its businesses. And, unlike its bigger neighbor, the Anaheim Technology Center, Savi Ranch can’t boast of a 50-mile optic communications network.
But Savi Ranch is home to several tech companies. Back in the 1990s, some even dubbed it “Spectrum North,” a reference to Orange County’s dominant tech park, the Irvine Spectrum.
But after a decade of development and promotion, Yorba Linda has yet to fulfill its promise as a North County counterpart to the Spectrum. In fact, Savi Ranch is becoming less of a tech center.
Part of the reason is competition for tech tenants from Anaheim, Irvine and other parts of South County. But another part is that demand for tech space in Yorba Linda has been outstripped by other uses, namely housing and shopping malls.
When the tech market slowed in the early-1990s, many Savi Ranch buildings went empty. Meanwhile, communities of Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills kept growing. So did the need for retail space.
“As the R & D; market slowed, the retail market exploded,” said Louis Tomaselli, a senior vice president with Voit Commercial Brokerage.
Several developers began building Savi Ranch in 1984. The goal: to attract tech companies with the benefits of a planned business park, access to employees in the Inland Empire and cheaper rates than in Irvine.
And, to a degree, they did it. Savi Ranch and the rest of Yorba Linda counts some notable tech companies. Perhaps the biggest is the OC operation of Santa Clara-based Kinetics Group Inc., a maker of semiconductor production equipment. Kinetics, which acquired Yorba Linda-based Unit Instruments Inc. in 1999, recently expanded its local facility.
But retailers have filled in much of the space in Savi Ranch in a bid to serve nearby communities. The area counts several large stores such as Price Club, Best Buy, Home Depot and Super Kmart. Savi Ranch also counts several restaurants and a book store.
“The balance of the land has gone to retail,” Tomaselli said.
And retail has continued to grow. About 360,000 square feet of retail space was completed six months ago and already is filling in, according to Tomaselli.
With more houses and retail, there isn’t much room left for technology companies to grow in Savi Ranch.
“There is no land left for development,” Tomaselli said.
City planners, who no doubt like the revenue from retailers, say they still welcome a mix of retail, housing and tech companies.
“Like the Spectrum, there are a lot of technology companies, but there are also a lot of retail companies,” said Bruce Cook, head of urban planning for the city of Yorba Linda. “A lot of the firms that are in the business park are small firms and the owners live out here. We think it’s appropriate to provide space to live for people who work out here.”
But the lack of new industrial space has created problems for some companies.
Inline Inc. is a maker of high-resolution video and audiovisual systems that is leaving Savi Ranch for larger space in Orange.
“We have outgrown our buildings and we need twice the space,” said Mike Andrews, vice president of marketing for Inline. The company also is getting cheaper lease rates in Orange, he said.
“It is a wonderful area, but it is a high-tech park and the rates reflect that,” Andrews said.
But Savi Ranch still has several technology companies that are thriving in the business park.
CDCE Inc. is a provider of wireless networking systems that says it benefits from being in Yorba Linda.
“Most of our employees live in this area and a lot of our customers are here,even in Savi Ranch there are a few,” said Walter Chantlos, a general manager with CDCE.
Another Savi Ranch company, Coax Corp., says it’s looking to raise more money for its operations. Last year, the company raised $1.5 million in a second round of private financing. Coax is working on developing a broadband delivery system to provide Internet access, telephone services and on-demand video, music and gaming to cable TV subscribers.
DirecTV Inc., a unit of GM Hughes Electronics, and Lucent Technologies Inc. also have operations in Savi Ranch.
While it’s not the Spectrum, Savi Ranch is tucked between lush green hills and the Riverside (91) Freeway. And Yorba Linda also has a stretch of land just north of Savi Ranch that a variety of companies call home, though many aren’t in technology. The city’s core business area runs along La Palma Avenue.
And thanks to the Foothill (241) Toll Road, Yorba Linda is a straight shot to Irvine, though it will cost you $3.25 one way. n
Stephine Michrina contributed to this article
