Santa Ana Park Nearing Construction
Developer Lures Converse to Inland Empire Big Box; Olson Building in Pomona
REAL ESTATE by Daniel D. Williams
An eight-building, 302,000-square-foot industrial project in Santa Ana has cleared hurdles with the city and is edging closer to construction, according to one of the project’s developers.
“We have received site plan approval from the city of Santa Ana and currently have three of the buildings under contract to buy or lease along with solid activity on the remaining buildings,” said John R. Salmon, senior vice president of Newport Beach-based Professional Real Estate Services.
The buildings range from 21,000 square feet to 63,500 square feet. Irvine-based LPA Inc. is the architect for the project, while Ontario-based Fulmer Construction is set to be the contractor. The project is tucked between St. Andrew Place and Lyon Street in Santa Ana.
“We are still 60 days from breaking ground,” Salmon said.
The project is a boon to Santa Ana and its bid to revitalize the city.
Set on 16 acres, the project is part of PacifiCenter, a 126-acre masterplanned business park. PacifiCenter already is home to the headquarters of Ingram Micro Inc., Powerwave Technologies Inc., Fabrication Concepts Corp., and, soon to be, Advanced Medical Optics Inc., Allergan Inc.’s medical device and eye-care products spinoff (see story, page 1).
“We are building a very high-end industrial/corporate headquarters project similar to the styles which have been built in the Irvine Spectrum and other areas of South County,” Salmon said.
PacifiCenter also includes a Home Depot, Staples and restaurants.
Salmon said the project has benefited by being within Santa Ana’s enterprise zone, a state-designated area. Businesses within the enterprise zone get tax credits including a 6% manufacturer’s investment tax credit and up to 100% net operating loss carryover for up to 15 years.
If the Big Box Fits
The industrial market in the Inland Empire continues to hold its own.
The 1.1 million-square-foot Jurupa Business Center in Fontana landed its first lease with North Reading, Mass.-based Converse Inc. signing on for 250,430 square feet.
The $5 million deal with Converse,the shoemaker that came to fame in the 1950s with its Chuck Taylor basketball shoe and filed for bankruptcy protection last year,brings Jurupa Business Center to a quarter preleased.
Converse plans to move into Jurupa in September, according to Ted Carpenter of Newport Beach-based Carpenter & Associates. Carpenter, along with Chuck Belden and Kyle Kehner of the Ontario office of Cushman & Wakefield Inc., represented Jurupa owner Principal Capital Real Estate Investors.
Frank Geraci of the Ontario office of CB Richard Ellis Services Inc. represented Converse. Santa Ana-based Rados Development-Jurupa LLC is developing the business park.
The Converse building is one of two massive distribution centers at the 51-acre Jurupa park. The other is an 827,500-square-foot building also set for completion in September.
“This is the only project of its kind currently available in Fontana,” Carpenter said.
Rados Development-Jurupa began building the $35 million project in April. The buildings were designed by Newport Beach-based HPA Inc.
Master Halco Makes a Move
La Habra-based Master Halco Inc., a fencing supplier, plans to move into an 18,700-square-foot facility on 10 acres in Fairless, Pa. The company is merging branches in Philadelphia and New Jersey into the Fairless site.
Master Halco, part of Japan’s Itochu Corp., made another big move last fall when it sold an 85,000-square-foot industrial building in Fontana for $6.4 million.
For the Fairless deal, Dan Knudson and Ken Hulbert of Newport Beach-based DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services represented Master Halco in the five-year lease valued at $1.25 million.
RESIDENTIAL
Land is hot throughout Southern California.
In recent weeks, Costa Mesa-based land broker O’Donnell/Atkins Co. has closed deals from Pomona to Loring Ranch, a masterplanned community near Riverside.
In the Pomona deal, O’Donnell/Atkins brokered 19 acres of subdivided land to Seal Beach homebuilder Olson Co. for $8.5 million.
Olson has plans for 117 homes on the Pomona land. Prices should range from $275,000 and $325,000.
Olson “felt it was a good opportunity in a marketplace that hasn’t had new product in about five years,” said Roland Chavez of O’Donnell/Atkins.
Chavez, along with Scott Richardson and Jeff Ragland of O’Donnell/Atkins, represented their company in the deal.
In Loring Ranch, Richmond American Homes, a unit of Denver-based MDC Holdings Inc., bought the last available tract in the 442-lot community.
Richmond American paid an undisclosed amount in grabbing rights to 111 lots in the community.
Mac O’Donnell, Steve Jones and Dustin Schmidt represented both parties in the deal.
“The demand for lots in the Inland Empire continues to show strong growth,” said O’Donnell.
