Believe It or Not, There Still Are High-Visibility Vacant Parcels Available in OC
With Orange County running out of land, some developers have resorted to scouring North County for former oil fields, while others have been beating the bushes for infill opportunities in the John Wayne Airport area.
But not all the county’s remaining developable land is encumbered with old wells that need to be cleaned up or hidden beneath an aging warehouse. There still are some vacant parcels in high-demand areas, even a few with freeway frontage.
These scattered gems are there for various reasons: poor city planning, projects that fell through, a family ownership that has preferred to stick to farming or simply hold onto the land like an heirloom.
Looking at criteria such as entitlement, visibility, geography, accessibility and location, the Business Journal has identified four choice undeveloped parcels in OC. Three of them are essentially ready to go. That is, no major hoops or impediments remain. They have full entitlements in place and planned projects on the drawing board. The only problem is finding a buyer in an economy that has made many cautious.
So, here are some diamonds in the rough.
AROVISTA AVENUE
AND MARINER STREET
Brea; 5.1 acres
This industrial land is the final piece of the 36.9-acre Brea Commerce Park in Brea. According to Sandy Nalle, a vice president in the Anaheim office of CB Richard Ellis, the land was once owned by Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc., an oil field equipment company.
“The property was never an oil field,” Nalle said. “Baker Hughes owned it, but never used it. It was just excess land. That’s why they sold it.”
In September, Baker Hughes sold the land to CB Richard Ellis, who in turn sold pieces to Sekisui TA Industries Inc. and the Evangelical Christian Credit Union. The Anaheim-based credit union purchased 17 acres and is moving its headquarters to a new building it is constructing on the site. Sekisui TA Industries, a subsidiary of Japan’s Sekisui Chemical Co., purchased 12 acres for the manufacturing of what it calls environmentally friendly tape.
The remaining 5.1 acres has been fully entitled, according to Nalle, for a build-to-suit up to 110,000 square feet. The asking price for the land is $16 per square foot.
“You can build anywhere from 85,000 to 110,000 square feet, depending on how it’s developed,” Nalle said.
The parcel is two miles west of the Orange (57) Freeway and five miles north of the Riverside (91) Freeway. The site has immediate access to Imperial Highway and is near a rail yard and Brea Mall.
A recent flurry of industrial activity in nearby Fullerton, Anaheim, Buena Park and lower prices for industrial product in the Inland Empire may be one reason the site has yet to find a buyer.
Nalle, Tom Dorman and Ben Seybold, all of CB Richard Ellis’ Anaheim office, are marketing the property.
2000 E. FIRST ST.
Santa Ana; 7.8 acres
Adjacent to the Xerox Centre land that recently sold to Irvine-based Crown Realty and Development, this parcel has been zoned for professional office space, according to Rick Warner of the Anaheim office of CB Richard Ellis.
The asking price is $7.1 million and, according to Warner, the land has 360 feet of Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway frontage with a 200,000-cars-per-day traffic count, adjacent to the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway interchange.
The Santa Ana site was owned by a family that held on to it but encumbered it with a land lease to a used-car company. Then, things fell in line for a commercial development. The land was acquired by a group of investors and zoning was put in place. Costco Inc. was very interested in it, but that project fell through.
Enter New Horizons Worldwide Inc., which acquired the land a couple of years ago to build a headquarters. That training-school firm was dragged down in the tech collapse, and opted instead to lease space in Anaheim, putting the Santa Ana site up for sale recently.
Warner said that most vacant property is undeveloped due to impediments.
“There’s still some hoops to jump through,” he said. “Usually, it’s an environmental impact statement. Or maybe the business cycle takes a dip. Most developers can’t wait 18 to 24 months for the cycle to right itself.”
This site, however, has “all green lights, no red lights,” Warner said.
Certainly visible and accessible, one sticking point may be the market slowdown and the presence of other development projects in the immediate area, competing for potential tenants.
COSTA MESA (55) FREEWAY
AT EDINGER AVENUE
Tustin; 34 acres
Saying that big, contiguous pieces of land are hard to come by these days in OC is an understatement. That’s why it’s such a jaw-dropper to see the expanse of dirt, all 34 acres of it, staring you in the face as you drive the 55 in Tustin and pass the Micro Center computer products store. With its drive-by visibility, why hasn’t this prime piece of land been developed?
It’s a complicated matter, according to Irv Chase of S & A; Properties, who is managing the development process for the land’s owner, AAE Pacific Park Associates. Brokers with Cushman and Wakefield are in negotiations to market the property.
“The property had a specific plan with Catellus,” Chase said. “The land was entitled for a 1.4 million-square-foot office project.”
But that plan will no longer be valid when changes to the on- and off-ramps in the area are completed. According to Chase, new road plans have been completed and the 34 contiguous acres will become four parcels, with a 12-acre piece being the largest. Due to eminent domain and public use issues, S & A; will continue in discussions with the city of Tustin before deciding on the property, but plans now call for mixed use, office and retail developments.
SANTA ANA (I-5) FREEWAY
AND JEFFREY ROAD
Irvine; 23 acres
Talking about The Irvine Company land is a tricky proposition. The company is in a unique position. Because it is the county’s largest landowner, it doles out land for sale as it sees fit, dictating the market more than being dictated to. So putting this parcel in with the others in this survey is a bit of apples-and-oranges.
But while the land remains vacant because of the Irvine Co.’s long-range planning and goals,rather than a lack of those in the other cases ,the fact remains that it’s a prime parcel, ready to go.
“It is strict supply,” said Jim Cunningham of Grubb & Ellis’ Newport Beach office. Cunningham should know. He’s been the exclusive broker for Irvine Spectrum land for the last 10 years.
“Contrary to the rest of the market, this land has been having record sales,” Cunningham said, referring to the Irvine Spectrum land in general. Recent sales nearby include parcels sold to the Islamic Center of Irvine and Boureston-Todd Development.
The Jeffrey Road land is available in allotments of one to 23 acres. The land has direct access to the freeway at Jeffrey Road and is within the Jeffrey Business Center in Irvine. The fully entitled land is available at $28 per square foot. Again, the land’s developability would depend primarily on the health of the overall market. n
