Panasonic Avionics Corp., a maker of in-flight entertainment systems for airlines, has struck a deal to keep and expand its sizeable operations in Lake Forest.
The company, one of the largest businesses recently in the market for space, said last week it will stay in six Lake Forest buildings.
The deal is for 354,727 square feet of space in a mix of offices, development space and laboratories.
The lease is an increase from the 327,000 square feet the company had before.
The 10-year deal is set to begin next year. Terms of the lease, finalized in late December, weren’t disclosed.
It was the largest office lease struck in the county last year, according to brokers at the Irvine office of tenant brokerage Studley Inc., which represented Panasonic.
The deal’s a boost to Lake Forest, which saw disk drive maker Western Digital Corp. move its headquarters from the city to Irvine late last year.
1,200 Workers
Panasonic Avionics—part of Japan’s Panasonic Corp.— employs about 1,200 people locally and 2,600 in all.
It’s Lake Forest’s second-largest employer after sunglasses maker Oakley Inc., which is based in the Foothill Ranch section of the city.
Local buildings house Panasonic’s corporate, engineering, production and administrative operations.
More than 3,000 planes have Panasonic’s gear for watching movies, TV shows, shopping, playing games or making calls.
Panasonic has grown in recent years by snapping up space that’s become available in buildings near its headquarters just off Bake Parkway near the Foothill (241) Toll Road.
The six buildings involved in the lease are owned by different landlords, making the deal a complicated one, said Studley Executive Vice President Royce Sharf, who worked with colleagues Michael Props and Kelly Givens on the deal.
Irvine’s Bixby Land Co. owns three of the buildings. The rest are owned by Piedmont Office Realty Trust, ING Groep NV and Abbey Co.
Panasonic said it received “significant” allowances to update facilities.
The renewal also provides room for expansion at nearby buildings owned by Bixby, according to Sharf.
All of Panasonic’s leases—including subleased spaced—were set to expire in early 2012.
The company considered a number of local options, according to Sharf, whose team also represented Western Digital in its recent move, the largest relocation of a technology tenant here in several years.
