Level 3 Communications Inc., the Broomfield, Colo.-based builder of speedy fiber-optic data and communications networks, is making a big move into Orange County.
The company has purchased an 87,826-square-foot building in Tustin for $7.5 million. Level 3 plans to spend another $2.5 million or so to upgrade and renovate the facility at 14452 Franklin Ave. and bring in an additional $1.8 million in computer and networking gear.
Add in the cost of connecting the Tustin building to Level 3’s national fiber-optic network, and the company’s overall OC investment is expected to near $30 million, said Bonni Carr, the senior network developer who has spearheaded Level 3’s efforts in OC.
“Basically we only deploy where we think there will be a lot of business growth,” she said.
The company has network centers in Los Angeles and San Diego, and sees Orange County as “a growing area that helps us to split our networks between Los Angeles and San Diego,” Carr said.
At the Tustin building, acquired from the Franklin Partnership, Level 3 plans to set up what’s called a co-location facility, where telecommunications companies, Internet service providers and others lease space.
Level 3 has taken ownership of the building and is awaiting permits from the city to undertake its renovation and upgrades. The network facility is expected to be operational in January, Carr said.
The Level 3 network covers nearly 40 U.S. metropolitan markets. A year from now, the company hopes to boost that number to 56 plus another 13 in Europe. About half of the U.S. markets are set to be high-speed fiber-optic networks.
Despite the big local investment, Level 3 won’t be employing that many people in Tustin. Only about 5,000 square feet of the building will be devoted to office space, Carr said, and the site is expected to house about 25 administrative and technical employees.
Carr said Level 3 spent a lot of time looking for a building that was suitable to house networking equipment. The company initially concentrated its search in Irvine, but expanded it to include Tustin. The renovation is set to include the installation of steel doors, generators and coolers.
“To make any kind of warehouse acceptable for telecom use it has to be a completely sealed, clean environment,” Carr said.
Chris Coyte and Jim Synder, senior vice presidents in the Newport Beach office of Lee & Associates, represented Franklin Partnership in the building sale. Chip Wright of CB Richard Ellis’ Newport Beach office represented Level 3. n
