Irvine Co. has backfilled a good portion of Broadcom Inc.’s former office campus near the University of California-Irvine after leasing a total of nearly 144,000 square feet.
A unit of Dublin-based medical device maker Medtronic PLC, which has sizable existing operations in Irvine and Santa Ana, recently agreed to lease 5290 California Ave., a nearly 102,000-square-foot building at UCI Research Park, say real estate sources.
It’s the largest office lease reported in Orange County so far this year, according to real estate market tracker CoStar Group Inc.
Covidien Neurovascular, which Medtronic acquired in 2015, is believed to occupy the entire building, say real estate sources familiar with the transaction.
Covidien currently operates out of multiple buildings around the Irvine Spectrum, including some owned by Newport Beach-based Irvine Co., OC’s largest landlord. The tenant will likely vacate some of those, including manufacturing facilities.
The company makes a variety of surgical devices and respiratory care products, local operations largely under Covidien Neurovascular. It was acquired by Medtronic, whose U.S. operations are based in Minneapolis, for $42.9 billion.
Medtronic’s OC operation includes heart valve products that compete with Irvine-based Edwards Lifesciences Corp.
Medtronic and affiliates owned or leased about 364,000 square feet of manufacturing and research space in California as of mid-2017, according to its latest annual report.
Much of the space is in OC, where its neurovascular, respiratory and monitoring operations employ nearly 900 people, according to Business Journal estimates.
The new lease will result in consolidation of some of Covidien’s local operations under one roof, and should allow the company to expand, according to sources.
The tenant plans to move into the building this fall, CoStar records indicate.
Local Covidien representatives couldn’t be reached for comment on the relocation, and Irvine Co. representatives declined to talk about the lease.
Ticket to Grow
Also on the move at UCI Research Park is ticketing technology company Paciolan, which recently signed a 42,000-square-foot lease at 5291 California Ave., another former Broadcom building that’s now undergoing a major renovation.
Paciolan will move from offices at 5171 California Ave. in the same office park where it’s leased about 31,000 square feet.
The space expansion comes about a year after several corporate changes at the one-time unit of Ticketmaster, and more recently the Irvine division of Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement, which provides software to sports teams, arts venues and others that use it to issue their own tickets.
The software processes about 120 million ticket sales a year for 500 venues.
Paciolan was acquired in June by Learfield Communications LLC in Plano, Texas, on undisclosed terms. Two months later, it bought two companies itself, TicketsWest and West Coast Entertainment in Spokane, Wash., also on undisclosed terms.
“We are excited to move into the new reimagined space to keep pace with the growth and success of our business,” said Paciolan President and Chief Executive Kim Damron in a statement.
“The outdoor workspace, exercise facilities, amenities and vibrant technology community will enable our business to continue to grow and innovate,” she said.
Broadcom Backfill
Irvine Co. said its latest leasing at UCI Research Park means it’s backfilled about 40% of the space Broadcom vacated over the past year as it moved local operations to the recently built Five Point Gateway office campus on the other side of Irvine.
Broadcom previously occupied 836,000 square feet at 11 buildings at UCI Research Park.
The chipmaker now occupies 661,000 square feet in two of the four new Five Point Gateway buildings; the company has reduced local operations following its 2016 sale to Avago Technologies Ltd., which kept the Broadcom name.
Broadcom sold the new campus last year to Aliso Viejo FivePoint Communities Inc. for $443 million, and is leasing back a portion under a long-term deal.
Irvine Co.’s 185-acre office park next to UCI, previously known as University Research Park, has been getting a makeover since Broadcom’s departure.
Upgrades include the one-acre Vine Park, which the landlord calls “a digitally-enabled, open-air venue for team collaboration,” plus the addition of creative-office features to indoor and outdoor spaces.
Other new tenants that have been taking over Broadcom’s old space include Toshiba America Inc. and Digital Map Products Inc.
