Overair, an upstart aerospace firm looking to build an electric air taxi for urban areas, has signed a 109,000-square-foot lease to more than double its footprint in Santa Ana.
The new lease is for the entirety of 3030 S. Susan St., an industrial building that’s a few blocks from Segerstrom High School, between Harbor Boulevard and Fairview Street. It’s across the street from Overair’s existing headquarters at 3001 S. Susan St., which is about 94,000 square feet.
Overair moved into its initial facility about a year ago.
Both Santa Ana buildings are part of the local portfolio for Newport Beach-based industrial developer and investor Alere Property Group.
Butterfly Reveal
The real estate expansion comes a few weeks after the company, which employs nearly 100, unveiled the commercial design for its six-seat, Butterfly electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles.
Butterfly vehicles are expected to be significantly quieter than typical helicopters, and as efficient as fixed-wing airplanes in forward flight.
They’re being designed to have a range of over 100 miles, the ability to recharge quickly between trips, a top speed of around 200 miles per hour, and can accommodate five passengers plus a pilot.
Uber, among others, has looked into the technology for future ride-sharing uses.
Overair expects to further expand its local footprint in the coming years as it ramps up vehicle operations, the company told the Business Journal last week.
“This is an exciting time for Overair,” Chief Executive Ben Tigner told the Business Journal. “We are on track to create 1,000 manufacturing and engineering jobs in Orange County over the next three years as we focus on bringing electric mobility solutions to the market.”
The company’s website lists more than 30 open positions, primarily engineering related.
Overair is competing against several other upstarts in the eVTOL market, including Santa Cruz’s Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY), which sports a nearly $6 billion market value, both in terms of getting a product to market and in attracting talent.
Karem Spinoff
Overair’s technology has been in development since 2004, under parent company Karem Aircraft of Lake Forest.
The consumer-focused business was split off at the start of 2020 from Karem Aircraft—founded by legendary Predator drone designer Abe Karem—to allow the Lake Forest firm to focus on its military work.
Ahead of its rebranding last year, Overair raised $25 million in funding, led by Korea’s Hanwha Group.
The company’s technology is reported to already incorporate more than $150 million of research and development in the context of military rotorcraft programs for Karem Aircraft.
Overair has developed “a very rich tapestry of interlinked technologies having to do with vertical-lift propulsion that provide extraordinary performance, very, very low noise and very, very low levels of vibration,” Tigner said last month during a media event at the Vertical Flight Society.
Tigner was a nominee for the Business Journal’s Innovator of the Year Awards, held last Thursday (see story, page 4).
The company’s goal is to “enable aerial ride-sharing customers to dramatically shorten their commutes and avoid traffic in densely populated urban markets.” It is aiming for FAA approval for its vehicles by 2025, and to bring Butterfly to market in 2026.
Alere Expansion
Overair replaces Impco Technologies as sole tenant of the 3030 S. Susan property, first built in 1979.
The site previously served as a headquarters base and manufacturing facility for Impco, a developer of propane and gas fuel systems.
Overair purchased Impco’s furniture, fixture and equipment as part of the deal, “which was critical in helping the tenant take immediate occupancy,” noted the landlord.
Financial terms of the lease were undisclosed.
The company is expected to use the site for manufacturing and engineering uses.
The building at 3030 S. Susan includes about 24,500 square feet of two-story office space.
“Alere was excited to be able to accommodate Overair’s expansion needs,” said Nick Spatafore, a senior vice president at CBRE who represented the landlord along with Chip Wright and Dave Desper.
CBRE’s Alex Hayden represented Overair in the latest lease.
“Overair is a burgeoning high-tech engineering and manufacturing firm in the aerospace industry; more typical industrial occupants in the area are e-commerce and distribution-focused businesses,” said Ian Carpe, Alere’s vice president of portfolio management.
“Alere’s understanding of the firm’s unique business, coupled with Overair’s great relationship with Alere as a preferred landlord, led to a quickly agreed upon and mutually beneficial lease agreement,” Carpe added.
Alere’s Orange County portfolio includes more than 3.7 million square feet across 50 properties, including 14 industrial assets in the Santa Ana submarket.
It recently made its third industrial acquisition of 2021, paying $12.3 million for a 35,475-square-foot industrial warehouse in the Irvine Spectrum.Â
