What’s old is new again, when it comes to the highest and best uses of property near John Wayne Airport, it appears.
A nearly 6-acre, older industrial site along Von Karman Avenue in Irvine, largely unused for several years and at one time under consideration for a residential project, now appears to be in line for new industrial development following a $26 million sale.
An affiliate of Manhattan Beach-based 9th St. Partners LLC, a developer of infill industrial properties, is the new owner of 17451 Von Karman Ave., a roughly 91,000-square-foot building near the intersection of Von Karman and McGaw avenues.
9th St. paid about $285 per square foot, or about $4.2 million an acre, for the site, according to CoStar Group Inc. records.
Specific plans for the site haven’t been disclosed. 9th St.’s website notes that it specializes in industrial projects and has a “reputation for getting difficult projects approved.”
Deft History
The building was long the home of Irvine-based specialty coatings supplier Deft Inc., whose representatives sold the building to 9th St.
Deft, in operation for some 75 years and one of the oldest businesses in the Irvine Business Complex, made primers and other coatings for the aviation industry, with smaller lines for the architectural and industrial segments and wood finishes for the retail market.
In 2013, it was acquired by PPG Industries Inc. in Pittsburgh for $25 million. Deft closed its local operations after the sale was completed.
As of a couple years ago, the prior owners of the site were among a handful of area property owners that were vying to get the last entitlements for residential development in the IBC.
Irvine in 2010 enacted a 15,000-unit cap on residential entitlements at the 2,700-acre swatch of land covering much of the southwest, industrial portion of Irvine near John Wayne Airport.
It was a turnaround in plans for Deft, whose representatives were once among the most vocal opponents of residential development in the area, joining other area firms and neighboring cities to fight the city’s plans.
Industrial’s Highs
Deft’s efforts at getting residential development approvals weren’t successful under the prior ownership, but given the run-up in land values for industrial projects in the area catering to e-commerce firms over the course of the pandemic, the delay didn’t hurt the site’s value.
The building is close to the Irvine Crossings industrial facility just off Von Karman Avenue. That property, used by Amazon and a data center tenant, sold for a little more than $180 million in June.
It was the priciest industrial sale in Orange County for 2021.Â
