ORANGE COUNTY, CALIF. — Voit Real Estate Services has completed the sales of three industrial properties in Orange County. In the first transaction, Contract Carpet acquired a 29,070-square-foot land parcel for $4.8 million. LPC Fullerton sold the property, which is located at 850 Enterprise St., Suite 6 in Fullerton, Calif. Brian DeRevere and Ryan Peterson of CB Richard Ellis represented the buyer; Mitch Zehner and Louis Tomaselli of Voit represented the seller in the transaction. Additionally, The Setbisium Trust completed the disposition of an 18,900-square-foot industrial building, which is located at 151 Columbine Ave. in Santa Ana, Calif. Landmax Group LLC purchased the property for $2.9 million. Greg Velastegui of Voit represented the buyer; Michael Cargile, Loren Cargile and Kevin Bayless, also of Voit, represented the seller in the transaction. In the final transaction, Staminus Communication Inc. has purchased a 4,637-square-foot industrial property, which is located at 9253 Research Dr. in Irvine, Calif., for $1.3 million. Sam Saeedi of Optimal Portfolio Real Estate Ground represented the buyer; Michael Hartel, Kevin Turner, Joseph Winkelmann and Travis Haining of Voit represented the seller, KPM Spectrum, in the transaction.
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. — Laurus Corp. has acquired a one-acre development site, which is located at the intersection of North Palm Drive and Civic Center Drive in the Platinum Triangle area of Beverly Hills. The property has entitlements to build 35 luxury condominiums in two adjacent buildings. Current project plans include two five-story buildings featuring units ranging in size from 2,000 to 3,400 square feet. The units will feature unique designs, top-of-the-line furnishing and high quality amenities. 432 Beverly Hills LLC was formed as an investment vehicle to acquire the property by a group of equity partners.
The northern Nevada office market remained weak in 2008 with all four quarters recording increased vacancy and negative net absorption, a continuation of a trend that began in 2007 when three out of four quarters finished with negative net absorption. Last year finished with negative 116,000 square feet of leased office space and vacancy exceeding 20 percent. Directly related to the drastic downturn in the residential real estate market, Reno’s office performance had been fueled by the national homebuilders, mortgage companies and title companies, who saw their requirements for office space drop as quickly as the demand for their products and services. The area’s office sector quickly changed from growth and high demand to nearly non-existent demand and increasing vacancy, thus leaving investors and developers scrambling for tenants. With rising vacancy and demand declining, many office property owners are willing to slash effective lease rates to secure tenants. The average asking rate for Class A properties at year-end 2008 was $22.08 per square foot, a $1.56 less than a year earlier, and Class B was down to $16.68 per square foot. During the highs of late 2006, the effective rates for class A product exceeded $27 per square foot. With …
The Reno-Sparks apartment market will continue to face occupancy challenges due to job losses at local casinos, hotels and other gaming-related companies due to the current recession. Effective rents will remain flat in 2009 and in some cases decrease, while occupancies are expected to decline, building on a trend established in second half 2008. Landlords will be forced to offer concessions as they compete for new and existing tenants. Apartment owners across the market are vying to attract new tenants and retain existing ones. As a result, concessions are ranging from reductions in deposits to a full month of free rent, especially at properties with management issues. Remaining flat, the local economy was experiencing unemployment of approximately 8 percent in November 2008 due to layoffs in many sectors, including the leisure and hospitality industry. In the 1970s, 30 percent of the employees in Reno worked in the gaming industry, but today only 17 percent are involved in that sector. In fact, the leading employers of Reno’s increasingly diversifying economy are the Washoe County School District, IGT, Catholic Healthcare West and the gaming-hospitality industry. Looking at fundamentals, fourth quarter 2008 vacancy was 9.4 percent in the Reno-Sparks MSA, reflecting an increase …
Last year brought rapid change to the Inland Empire industrial market, which finished 2008 with increased vacancy rates, rising cap rates, negative absorption and negative rent growth. Throw in the region’s unemployment rate of 10 percent — one of the highest in the country — and it’s no surprise that the Inland Empire industrial sector will continue to have its challenges in 2009. That said, this market is viewed by most as having strong long-term fundamentals, which will continue to attract institutional capital and drive tenant demand. Industrial leasing is expected to remain soft this year with landlords going to great lengths to secure and retain occupancy. Vacancy rates, currently at 22 percent in the east and 12 percent in the west, will continue to trend upward as leases expire and companies continue to downsize. Effective rental rates have dropped 20 to 25 percent in the last 9 months, with flat to negative rent growth expected for 2009. As retailers continue to downsize and outsource their distribution function, third-party logistics providers will pick up the slack. Southern California is home to more than 21 million people, who may be buying fewer jet skis and flat-screen TVs, but will still need …
Office As with many markets around the country, office development in San Diego has ground to a near halt. Many projects are stalled in the pre-development phase or are just completed, but new groundbreakings are scarce. Cash flow is king, and landlords, who were happy to purchase partially vacant buildings a couple of years ago, are now eager to lease up their buildings as quickly as possible and have come to terms with the fact that they need to lower lease rates in order to do so. The average downtime for vacant space is 1 year and then some, so landlords are willing to make concessions, including more months of free rent and increased tenant improvements. Overall, tenants can expect to enjoy a 15 to 20 percent total lease value reduction compared to a year ago, and many tenants who signed at high lease rates several years ago are opting to re-structure their leases early in exchange for reduced rates. Exceeding 25 percent in vacancy, the Carlsbad submarket has been especially hard-hit by the economic downturn, mostly due to overbuilding in that area. The ever-popular Del Mar and UTC submarkets have probably fared among the best, but still hover near …
DENVER — Locally-owned RedPeak Properties Inc. has topped out its third and final building at The Seasons of Cherry Creek, a high-rise apartment property located at 3329 E. Bayaud Ave. in Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood. The 13-story building will offer 148 units, which brings the project to 587 studios, one- and two-bedroom units. Completion of the third building is slated for early 2010. Designed by Denver-based Fentress Architects, the new component is sustainable featuring recycled materials, materials with low VOC, Energy Star appliances and daylight dimming systems.
VANCOUVER, WASH. — Precise, a local precision grinding company, has purchased an industrial building, which is located at 5600 NE 121st Ave. in Vancouver. California-based Elixir Industries Inc. sold the property for $4.22 million. Precise plans to move into the facility in May and market approximately 25,000 square feet for lease. Garret Harper of NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson represented the buyer in the transaction.
RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. — Aqua Caliente Casino Resort Spa has completed the development of The Show, a more than 2,000-seat headliner theater located at Aqua Caliente Casino Resort Spa Rancho Mirage. The $64 million, 91,000-square-foot theater features multi-level seating, VIP box suites and lounges, multiple bars and state-of-the-art sound and lighting. Back of the house features include dressing rooms, green rooms and house management offices. Designed by San Diego-based Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker, the space can accommodate musical acts, boxing, ultimate fighting championship events, fashion shows and banquet dining. Additionally, the project included the construction of a 10,000-square-foot warehouse to support hotel and casino operations, which is linked to the hotel via a 500-foot underground tunnel. The Penta Building Group served as general contractor for the project. The property is located at 32-350 Bob Hope Dr.
LOS ANGELES — Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Astani Enterprises Inc. is developing Concerto, a luxury condominium and loft development located at Ninth and Figueroa streets in downtown Los Angeles’ South Park. The $300 million project features two 30-story glass towers and a mid-rise loft building. Designed by DeStefano Partners Ltd., the development features studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units. The units feature approximately 10-foot ceilings, full-length exterior glass walls, European cabinetry and appliances. The property also boosts a saltwater pool, cabanas and fire pits. Occupancy of the 77-unit Loft collection begins in June; occupancy of the first tower with 271 units is planned for this fall.