By BOB GOODMANSON
Industrial construction continues at a fast pace in West Orange County.
Fueled by low interest rates, low vacancy and strong demand, record high lease and sales numbers continued in the second quarter and are expected for the rest of 2005.
West County, once dominated by aerospace and defense companies, now is balanced with a mix of companies in the apparel, automotive, household products and appliances, construction products and electronics industries, to name a few.
West County has a strategic location, easily servicing Los Angeles and OC while being close to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Its location has had a substantial impact on recent growth in the area, particularly from trade with Pacific Rim counties.
Absorption also has been impacted positively by companies wanting to operate in an area that has a low crime rate and high quality of life. Huntington Beach recently was ranked as one of the county’s safest cities.
The office vacancy rate fell 45% to 8.9% in the second quarter, compared to a year earlier. Vacancy for manufacturing and warehouse space fell 16% to 3.1% in the period.
Asking rents were mixed in the second quarter, with retail leading the way on a 29% gain to $2.29 per square foot, compared to a year earlier. Research and development lease rates fell 12% to 65 cents per square foot in the period.
There was a total of 566,077 square feet of space under construction in the second quarter. The most notable industrial project under way in West County is being developed on surplus Boeing Co. land in Huntington Beach by Burke Development Co.
Astronautics Corporate Center consists of five new buildings ranging from 18,329 to 62,639 square feet for a total of about 218,000 square feet.
Four companies are in escrow on the buildings, which are set to be finished in the fourth quarter. Buyers include auto, distribution and manufacturing companies.
A 185,000-square-foot distribution facility also is under construction at Astronautics Corporate Center.
The supply of infill property and older facilities appropriate for redevelopment is disappearing rapidly. Residential construction also is starting to have an impact on the dwindling supply of industrial properties.
Demand will continue to be very strong and, with a limited supply of industrial properties, values will continue to rise across West County.
Goodmanson is a senior vice president in the Newport Beach office of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.
The Real Estate Watch Chart – Net Absorption, Rates, etc. is provided in a Adobe Reader .pdf print-friendly file.
CLICK HERE
to download
REAL ESTATE WATCH CHARTS
Please note: to download the file, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. For a free copy of the software,
click here.
