Real Estate Watch: Construction Activity
Modest Construction Starts in First Quarter
Industrial
Six industrial buildings broke ground in the first quarter, increasing total industrial construction activity in the county to 818,321 square feet.
New development included two warehouse and one manufacturing building in Anaheim, two manufacturing buildings in Huntington Beach and one warehouse in Lake Forest.
These buildings are set to be finished this summer.
The largest of these buildings is 37,432 square feet; most industrial activity continues to be for smaller tenants.
Two research and development buildings completed construction during the first quarter for a total of 53,216 square feet.
The two buildings,both in the Irvine Spectrum,were about 64% occupied at completion.
Office
Two office projects completed construction during the first quarter. Both are in South Orange County.
One new campus project, comprising multiple smaller one-story buildings, was finished in the Irvine Spectrum. It added 34,684 square feet to the market.
And construction on a class A low-rise building in Mission Viejo was finished in January, adding 40,000 square feet of office space.
With no new construction starting in the quarter, remaining office development drop-ped to about 845,000 square feet, including one 180,000 square-foot owner-user project in Costa Mesa.
The speculative projects under construction were 41% preleased as of the end of the first quarter.
Retail
Construction on one new retail center started in the first quarter, adding 51,534 square feet of activity in the county.
The new specialty center, The Bluffs, on MacArthur Boulevard at Bison Avenue in Newport Beach, will house several restaurants and is set to be finished during the summer.
No new centers completed construction during the first quarter.
The remaining 2.1 million square feet of construction activity in Orange County includes two specialty centers, Marblehead Promenade in San Clemente and Anaheim Gateway in Anaheim, and three community centers, with one each in La Habra, Huntington Beach and Irvine.
Two of the community centers will house Lowe’s and Kohl’s.
Analysis provided by CB Richard Ellis’ Global Research and Consulting.
