The Irvine Company plans to start building twin 14-story office towers next month in the Irvine Spectrum.
The move will make it one of the first developers with new speculative high-rise space in one of the tightest office markets in the U.S.
The developer has ordered steel and is set to begin construction before signing anchor tenants at 20 and 40 Pacifica, said William “Bill” Halford, president of the Irvine Co.’s office division.
Several other developers have announced plans for high-rise office buildings in Orange County. None have started construction without a tenant signed.
“It’s gravy that we are early in the game,” Halford said. “Whether we are absolutely the first is not as important.”
Both towers should be finished by late 2007, he said.
They are expected to total 628,000 square feet and double the amount of high-rises in the Spectrum. The business park’s two existing towers were finished in 1989 and 1990.
Halford said Newport Beach-based Irvine Co. is set to build both high-rises simultaneously. The Irvine Co. controls much of the land in the Spectrum.
“They have a unique position in Spectrum high-rises,” said Royce Sharf, executive vice president with Studley Inc. in Irvine. “They are the only game in town for true class A high-rise.”
A handful of developers have announced plans to go forward with high-rise construction, mostly in the popular commercial hub near John Wayne Airport.
For more on this story, see the Oct. 17 edition of the Business Journal.
