Just halfway through development of the sprawling Summit Office Campus in Aliso Viejo, Parker Properties LP already is scouring Southern California for land for its next major development.
The Aliso Viejo-based company has identified a second, undisclosed site in South County and is in talks with the landowner, said Russ Parker, a principal with Parker Properties.
“We think The Summit is repeatable,” Parker said. “We’re involved in the early stages of a project and I’m licking my chops to tell you (about it) in six months.”
Although it is too early to determine the exact size of such a development,it would likely be smaller than the 1.7 million-square-foot Summit and would feature bigger floorplates.
“Taking a lot of the pages from the Summit book and repeating it, that has always been our goal,” Parker said. “There is a life for us after the Summit, even though we still have three or four years left” until completion of the Aliso Viejo project.
Already, eight of the Summit’s 16 buildings have been completed. One of Orange County’s newest business parks, the Summit has established itself as a favored destination for technology companies, which are attracted by its low-rise campus setting and tech-friendly constructions plans. Tenants include QLogic Corp., buy.com Inc., San Jose-based Cypress Semiconductor Corp. and Enfrastructure.
In addition to South County, Parker Properties is looking for land in other markets throughout Southern California, Parker said.
Any such project will be somewhat different from the Summit, most notably in terms of a lower density and a different architectural style. Not only will Parker Properties look to improve on the design of the Summit, but it will also have to take into account that the market has changed. Specifically, while demand for office space remains strong, most of the pent-up demand that was so evident when construction of the Summit was launched has been addressed.
Parker Properties is aware of this, Parker said.
“I think you have to build to what the tenants want,” he said. “We’re always looking at the market and the competition and whose building what and what their rates are.”
And while the demand for office space may not be as strong, it is still a vibrant market, Parker said.
“I don’t see rates going up big time, but I don’t see them decreasing,” he said. “I’m still bullish on traditional and new economy tenants.” n
