Upon completion, the facility will encompass 41,280 sf of medical office space. The three-story structure will consist of a steel-frame, plaster exterior and concrete-tile mansard roof. It will rise on a 2.7-acre parcel located at 24331 El Toro Rd.

The building is being developed by Newport Beach-based Mark IV Capitol. Irvine-based Snyder Langston is heading up construction services for the project, which is slated for a March 2002 completion.

The project gets under way in a region where overall vacancy rate for non-CBD office space stood at 20.1% at the end of the third quarter, according to a recent report by Cushman & Wakefield of California Inc. The area has experienced a negative net absorption of 18,655 sf during this year's first three quarters, the report says. Meanwhile, the overall average weighted rental rate is $2.05 per sf per month, as compared to the county's overall average of $2.22 per sf per month.